GIFT  OF 


THE  PICNIC.    See  page  133. 


ROLLO  IN   SCOTLAND, 


JACOB    ABBOTT. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED   BY  TAGGARD  AND   THOMPSON. 

M  DCCC  LXIV. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1886,  by 

JACOB    ABBOTT, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  MassochuieUa. 


STEHEflTYPED   AT   THE 
BOSTON     STEREOTYPE     FOUNDHT 

KIVEKSIDE,  CAMBRIDGE: 
I'  HINTED   BY   H.    O.    HOUGHTON 


f 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAG* 

I.  —  THE  BOY  THAT  WAS  NOT  LOADED,         .        .  11 

II.  —  DISTRICTS  OP  SCOTLAND,          ....  32 

III.  —  ARRIVAL  AT  GLASGOW,  .        .  44 

IV.  —  THE  EXPEDITION  PLANNED,     ....  57 
V.  —  DOWN  THE  CLYDE,   ......  65 

VI.  —  WALKS  ABOUT  GLASGOW,        ....      73 
VII.  —  ENTERING  THE  HIGHLANDS,    ....      79 

VIII.  —  ROWERDENNAN    INN,  .  91 

IX.  —  THE  TOUR  OF  THE  TROSSACHS,  .        .110 

X.  —  STIRLING,    ........     122 

XL  —  LOCH  LEVEN,     .......     135 

XII.  —  EDINBURGH,        .......    157 

XIII.  —  THE  PALACE  OF  HOLYROOD,  .        .        .        .174 

XIV.  —  QUEEN  MARY'S  APARTMENTS,.        .        .        .188 
XV.  —  EDINBURGH  CASTLE,         .....    207 

XVI.  —  CONCLUSION,       .......    216 


ENGRAVINGS. 

PAGE 

FRONTISPIECE. 

STIRLING  CASTLE,           .......  10 

ODD  OR  EVEN  .........  21 

THE  COFPEE  ROOM  ........  61 

THE  SHETLAND  PONY,  .         .         .....  87 

VIEWING  THE  SCENERY  OP  LOCH  LOMOND,           .         .  97 

THE  BOYS  ON  THE  BRIDGE,  ......  112 

LOCH  LEVEN,         ........  147 

SCOTT'S  MONUMENT  ........  177 

THE  CORNER  TOWER,  OF  THE   PALACE  OF  HOLYROOD,  189 

QUEEN  MARY'S  BEDROOM,    .                 ....  193 

QUEEN  ELIZABETH  ON  PARADE,            ,                 .  204 


438889 


ORDER  OF  THE  VOLUMES 

ROLLO  ON  THE  ATLANTIC. 
HOLLO  IN  PARIS. 
ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 
ROLLO  IN  LONDON. 
ROLLO  ON  THE  RHINE. 
ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 
ROLLO  IN  GENEVA. 
ROLLO  IN  HOLLAND. 
ROLLO  IN  NAPLES. 
ROLLO  IN  ROME. 


PRINCIPAL  PERSONS  OF  THE  STORY. 

ROLLO  ;  twelve  years  of  age. 

MR.  and  MRS.  HOLIDAY  ;  Rollo's  father  and  mother,  travelling  in 

Europe. 

THANNY  ;  Rollo's  younger  brother. 
JANE  ;  Rollo's  cousin,  adopted  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holiday. 
MR.  GEORGE  ;  a  young  gentleman,  Rollo's  uncle. 


STIRLING    CASTLE. 


ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

CHAPTER   I . 
THE  BOY  THAT  WAS  NOT  LOADED. 

One  of  the  ways  to  Scotland.  Waldron  Kennedy. 

IN  the  course  of  his  travels  in  Europe,  Rollo 
went  with  his  uncle  George  one  summer  to 
spend  a  fortnight  in  Scotland. 

There  are  several  ways  of  going  into  Scotland 
from  England.  One  way  is  to  take  a  steamer 
from  Liverpool,  and  go  up  the  Clyde  to  Glasgow. 
This  was  the  route  that  Mr.  George  and  Rollo 
took. 

On  the  way  from  Liverpool  to  Glasgow,  Rollo 
became  acquainted  with  a  boy  named  Waldron 
Kennedy.  Waldron  was  travelling  with  his 
father  and  mother  and  two  sisters.  His  sisters 
were  mild  and  gentle  girls,  and  always  kept  near 
their  mother ;  but  Waldron  seemed  to  be  always 
getting  into  difficulty,  or  mischief.  He  was  just 
about  Rollo's  age,  but  was  a  little  taller.  He 
was  a  very  strong  boy,  and  full  of  life  and  spirits. 


12 


IN    ^  C  0  T  L  A  N  D  . 


'  Walctrcm  on  the  ratline*;.  i    •  His  mother's  anxiety. 

He  was  very  venturesome,  too,  and  he  was  con 
tinually  frightening  his  mother  by  getting  him 
self  into,  what  seemed  to  her  dangerous  situa 
tions.  One  morning,  when  she  came  up  on  deck, 
just  after  the  steamer  entered  the  mouth  of  the 
Clyde,  she  almost  fainted  away  at  seeing  Wal- 
dron  half  way  up  the  shrouds.  He  was  poising 
himself  there  on  one  of  the  ratlines,  resting  upon 
one  foot,  and  holding  on  with  only  one  hand. 

To  prevent  his  doing  such  things,  Waldron's 
mother  kept  him  under  the  closest  possible  re 
straint,  and  would  hardly  let  him  go  away  from 
her  side.  She  watched  him,  too,  very  closely  all  the 
time,  and  worried  him  with  perpetual  cautions. 
It  was  always,  "  Waldron,  don't  do  this,"  or, 
"  Waldron,  you  must  not  do  that,"  or,  "  Waldron, 
don't  go  there."  This  confinement  made  Wal 
dron  very  restless  and  uneasy  ;  so  that,  on  the 
whole,  both  he  himself  and  his  mother,  too,  had  a 
very  uncomfortable  time  of  it. 

"  He  worries  my  life  out  of  me,"  she  used  to 
say,  "  and  spoils  all  the  pleasure  of  my  tour.  0, 
if  he  were  only  a  girl !  " 

Mr.  George  had  been  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Kennedy  and  his  family  in  New  York,  and  they 
were  all  very  glad  to  meet  him  on  board  the 
steamer. 

On  the  morning  after  the  steamer  entered  the 


THE  BOY  THAT  WAS  NOT  LOADED.      13 

Rollo  and  Waldron.  Two  different  characters. 

mouth  of  the  Clyde,  Mrs.  Kennedy  and  her 
daughters  were  sitting  on  a  settee  upon  the  deck, 
with  books  in  their  hands.  From  time  to  time 
they  read  in  these  books,  and  in  the  intervals 
they  looked  at  the  scenery.  Waldron  stood  near 
them,  leaning  in  a  listless  manner  on  the  railing. 
Rollo  came  up  to  the  place,  and  accosted  Wal 
dron,  saying, — 

"  Come,  Waldron,  come  with  me." 

"  Hush !  "  said  Waldron,  in  a  whisper.  "  You 
go  out  there  by  the  paddle  box  and  wait  a  mo 
ment,  till  my  mother  begins  to  look  on  her  book 
again,  and  then  I'll  steal  away  and  come." 

But  Rollo  never  liked  to  obtain  any  thing  by 
tricks  and  treachery,  and  so  he  turned  to  Mrs. 
Kennedy,  and,  in  a  frank  and  manly  manner, 
said,  — 

"  Mrs.  Kennedy,  may  Waldron  go  away  with 
me  a  little  while  ?  " 

"Why,  I  am  afraid,  Rollo,"  said  Mrs.  Ken 
nedy.  "  He  always  gets  into  some  mischief  or 
other  the  moment  he  is  out  of  my  sight." 

"0,  we  shall  be  under  my  uncle  George's 
care,"  said  Rollo.  "  I  am  going  out  there  where 
he  is  sitting." 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Kennedy,  hesitating,  and 
looking  very  timid,  —  "  well,  Waldron  may  go  a 
little  while.  But,  Waldron,  you  must  be  sure 


14  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Steamboat  building  on  the  Clyde.  Machine  shops  and  founderie*. 

and  stay  by  Mr.  George,  or,  at  least,  not  go  any 
where  without  his  leave." 

"  Yes,"  said  Waldron,  "  I  will." 

So  he  and  Rollo  went  away,  and  walked  lei 
surely  towards  the  place  where  Mr.  George  was 
sitting. 

"  I  am  glad  we  are  coming  up  this  river,  to 
Greenock  and  Glasgow,"  said  Waldron. 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  Because  of  the  steamboats,"  said  Waldron. 

"  Do  they  build  a  great  many  steamboats  in 
Greenock  and  Glasgow  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Waldron ;  "  this  is  the  greatest 
place  for  building  steamboats  in  the  world." 

"  Except  New  York,"  said  Rollo. 

"  0,  of  course,  except  New  York,"  replied 
Waldron.  "  But  they  build  all  the  big  English 
steamers  in  this  river.  All  the  Cunarders  were 
built  here,  and  they  have  got  some  of  the  best 
machine  shops  and  founderies  here  that  there  are 
in  the  world.  I  should  like  to  go  all  about  and 
see  them,  if  I  could  only  get  away  from  my 
mother." 

"  Why,  won't  she  let  you  go  ?  "  said  Rollo. 

"  No,"  replied  Waldron,  "  not  if  she  knows  it. 
She  thinks  I  am  a  little  boy,  and  is  so  afraid  that 
I  shall  get  hurt  !  " 

Waldron    pronounced    the   word    hurt   in   a 


THE  BOY  THAT  WAS  NOT  LOADED.   15 

Waldron  and  Mr.  George.  The  great  iron  ship 

drawling  and  contemptuous  tone,  which  was  so 
comical  that  Rollo  could  not  help  laughing  out 
right. 

"  I  go  to  all  the  ship  yards  and  founderies  in 
New  York  whenever  I  please,"  continued  Wal 
dron.  "  I  go  when  she  does  not  know  it.  Some 
times  the  men  let  me  help  them  carry  out  the 
melted  iron,  and  pour  it  into  the  moulds." 

By  this  time  the  two  boys  had  reached  the 
place  where  Mr.  George  was.  He  was  sitting 
on  what  is  called  a  camp  stool,  and  was  engaged 
in  reading  his  guide  book,  and  studying  the  map, 
with  a  view  of  finding  out  what  route  it  would 
be  best  to  take  in  the  tour  they  were  about 
making  in  Scotland.  Mr.  George  drew  the  boys 
into  conversation  with  him  on  the  subject.  His 
object  was  to  become  acquainted  with  Waldron, 
and  find  out  what  sort  of  a  boy  he  was. 

"  Where  do  you  wish  to  go,  Waldron  ?  "  said 
Mr.  George. 

"  Why,  I  want  to  stay  here  a  good  many 
days,"  said  Waldron,  "  to  see  the  steamers  and 
the  dockyards.  They  are  building  a  monstrous 
iron  ship,  somewhere  here.  She  is  going  to  be 
five  hundred  tons  bigger  than  the  Baltic." 

"  I  should  like  to  see  her,"  said  Mr.  George. 

As  he  said  this  he  kept  his  eye  upon  his  map, 
following  his  finger,  as  he  moved  it  about  from 


16  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Edinburgh.  Linlithgow.  The  mountains  of  Scotland. 

place  to  place,  as  if  he  was  studying  out  a  good 
way  to  go. 

"  There  is  Edinburgh,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  we 
must  certainly  go  to  Edinburgh." 

"  Yes,"  said  Waldron,  "  I  suppose  that  is  a 
pretty  great  place.  Besides,  I  want  to  see  the 
house?  twelve  stories  high." 

"  And  there  is  Linlithgow,"  continued  Mr. 
George,  still  looking  upon  his  map.  "  That  is 
the  place  where  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  was  born. 
Waldron,  would  you  like  to  go  there  1 " 

"Why,  no,"  said  Waldron,  doubtfully,  "not 
much.  I  don't  care  much  about  that." 

"  It  is  a  famous  old  ruin,"  said  Mr.  George. 

"  But  I  don't  care  much  about  the  old  ruins," 
said  Waldron.  "  If  the  lords  and  noblemen  are 
as  rich  as  people  say  they  are,  I  should  think  they 
would  mend  them  up." 

"  And  here,  off  in  the  western  part  of  Scot 
land,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "  are  a  great  many 
mountains.  Would  you  like  to  go  and  see  the 
mountains  1 " 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Waldron,  "  not  particularly." 
Then  in  a  moment  he  added,  "  Can  we  go  up  to 
the  top  of  them,  Mr.  George  t  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  we  can  go  to  the 
top  of  some  of  them." 

" The  highest?  "  asked  Waldron. 


THE  BOY  THAT  WAS  NOT  LOADED.     17 

Excursions  in  the  rain.  The  bridge. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  Ben  Nevis,  I  be 
lieve,  is  the  highest.  We  can  go  to  the  top  of 
that." 

"  Then  I  should  like  to  go,"  said  Waldron, 
eagerly. 

"  Unless,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "  it  should 
rain  too  hard." 

"  0, 1  should  not  care  for  the  rain,"  said  Wal 
dron.  "  It's  good  fun  to  go  in  the  rain." 

While  this  conversation  had  been  going  on, 
Waldron  had  been  looking  this  way  and  that, 
at  the  various  ships  and  steamers  that  were 
gliding  about  on  the  water,  examining  carefully 
the  building  of  each  one,  and  watching  her  mo 
tions.  He  now  proposed  that  Rollo  should  go 
forward  to  the  bridge  with  him,  where  they  could 
have  a  better  lookout. 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo.  So  the  two  boys  went 
together  to  the  bridge. 

The  bridge  was  a  sort  of  narrow  platform, 
extending  across  the  steamer,  from  one  paddle 
wheel  to  the  other,  for  the  captain  or  pilot  to 
walk  upon,  in  order  to  see  how  the  steamer  was 
going,  and  to  direct  the  steering.  When  they 
are  in  the  open  sea  any  of  the  passengers  are 
allowed  to  walk  here ;  but  in  coming  into  port, 
or  into  a  river  crowded  with  shipping,  then  a 
notice  is  put  up  requesting  passengers  not  to  go 
2 


18  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  notice  on  the  bridge.  The  forecastle. 

upon  the  bridge,  inasmuch  as  at  such  times  it  is 
required  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  captain  and 
pilot. 

This  notice  was  up  when  Waldron  and  Rollo 
reached  the  bridge. 

"  See,"  said  Rollo,  pointing  at  the  notice. 
"  We  cannot  go  there." 

"  0,  never  mind  that,"  said  Waldron.  "  They'll 
let  us  go.  They  only  mean  that  they  don't  want 
too  many  there  —  that's  all." 

But  Rollo  would  not  go.  Mr.  George  had 
accustomed  him,  in  travelling  about  the  world, 
always  to  obey  all  lawful  rules  and  orders,  and 
particularly  every  direction  of  this  kind  which 
he  might  find  in  public  places.  Some  people  are 
very  much  inclined  to  crowd  upon  the  line  of 
such  rules,  and  even  to  encroach  upon  them  till 
they  actually  encounter  some  resistance  to  drive 
them  back.  They  do  this  partly  to  show  their 
independence  and  importance.  But  Mr.  George 
was  not  one  of  this  sort. 

So  Rollo  would  not  go  upon  the  bridge. 

"  Then  let  us  go  out  on  the  forecastle,"  said 
Waldron.  He  pointed,  as  he  spoke,  to  the  fore 
castle,  which  is  a  small  raised  deck  at  the  bows 
of  a  steamer,  where  there  is  an  excellent  place 
to  see. 

"No,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  will  not  go  on  the  fore- 


THE  BOY  THAT  WAS  NOT  LOADED.      19 

Uncle  George's  rule.  A  discussion.  Drawing  lots. 

castle  either.  Uncle  George's  rule  for  me  on 
board  ship  is,  that  I  may  go  where  I  see  other 
gentlemanly  passengers  go,  and  nowhere  else. 
The  passengers  do  not  go  on  the  forecastle." 

"  Yes,"  said  Waldron,  "  there  are  some  there 
now." 

"  There  is  only  one,"  said  Eollo,  "  and  he  has 
no  business  there." 

During  the  progress  of  this  conversation  the 
boys  had  sat  down  upon  the  upper  step  of  a  steep 
flight  of  stairs  which  led  down  from  the  promenade 
deck  to  the  main  deck.  They  could  see  pretty 
well  where  they  were,  but  not  so  well,  Waldron 
thought,  as  they  could  have  seen  from  the  fore 
castle. 

"  I  think  we  might  go  on  the  forecastle  as  well 
as  not,"  said  Waldron,  "  even  according  to  your 
own  rule.  For  there  is  a  passenger  there." 

"  I  think  it  is  doubtful,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Well,"  said  Waldron,  "  we'll  call  it  doubtful. 
We  will  draw  lots  for  it." 

So  saying,  Waldron  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket, 
and,  after  fumbling  about  there  a  minute  or  two, 
took  it  out,  and  held  it  before  Rollo  with  the  fin 
gers  shut,  so  that  Rollo  could  not  see  what  was 
in  it. 

"  Odd  or  even  ?  "  said  Waldron. 


20  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

"  Odd  or  even."        A  discussion  about  nothing.       Arithmetical  operations. 

Rollo  looked  at  the  closed  hand,  with  a  smile 
of  curiosity  on  his  face,  but  he  did  not  answer. 

"  Say  odd  or  even/7  continued  Waldron.  "  If 
you  hit,  that  will  prove  that  you  are  right,  and 
we  will  not  go  to  the  forecastle  ;  but  if  you  miss, 
then  we  will  go." 

Rollo  hesitated  a  moment,  not  being  quite  sure 
that  this  was  a  proper  way  of  deciding  a  ques 
tion  of  right  and  wrong.  In  a  moment,  however, 
he  answered,  "  Even." 

Waldron  opened  his  hand,  and  Rollo  saw  that 
there  was  nothing  in  it. 

"  There,"  said  Waldron,  "  it  is  odd,  and  you 
said  even." 

"  No,"  said  Rollo,  "  it  is  not  either  even  or 
odd.  There  is  nothing  at  all  in  your  hand." 

"  Well,"  said  Waldron,  "  nothing  is  a  number, 
and  it  is  odd." 

"  0  Waldron ! "  said  Rollo,  "  it  is  not  any 
number  at  all.  Besides,  if  it  is  a  number,  it  is 
not  odd  —  it  is  even." 

"  Yes,'?  said  Waldron,  "  it  is  a  number,  for  you 
can  add  it,  and  subtract  it,  and  multiply  it,  and 
divide  it,  just  as  you  can  any  other  number." 

"  0  Waldron !  "  exclaimed  Rollo  again.  "  You 
can't  do  any  such  thing." 

"  Yes,"  said  Waldron,  "  I  can  add  nothing  to 


ODD  OH   EVEN. 


THE  BOY  THAT  WAS  NOT  LOADED.     23 

Waldron's  arguments.       Hollo  perplexed.       A  reference  to  Mr.  George. 

one,  and  it  makes  one.  So,  I  can  take  nothing 
away  from  one,  and  it  leaves  one. 

"  I  can  multiply  nothing,  too.  I  can  multiply 
it  by  ten.  Ten  times  nothing  are  nothing.  So 
I  can  divide  it.  Five  in  nothing  no  times,  and 
nothing  over." 

Rollo  was  somewhat  perplexed  by  this  argu 
ment,  and  he  did  not  know  what  to  reply.  Still 
he  would  not  admit  that  nothing  was  a  number 
—  still  less  that  it  was  an  odd  number.  He  did 
not  believe,  he  said,  that  it  was  any  number  at 
all.  The  boys  continued  the  discussion*  for 
some  time,  and  then  they  concluded  to  go  and 
refer  it  to  Mr.  George. 

And  here  I  ought  to  say  that  Waldron  had  an 
artful  design  in  taking  nothing  in  his  hand,  when 
he  called  upon  Rollo  to  say,  Odd  or  even.  He 
did  it  in  order  that  whatever  answer  Rollo 
might  give,  he  might  attempt  to  prove  it  wrong. 
He  was  a  very  ingenious  boy,  and  could  as  easily 
maintain  that  nothing  was  even  as  that  it  was 
odd.  Whichever  Rollo  had  said,  his  plan  was  to 
maintain  the  contrary,  and  so  persuade  him  to  go 
to  the  forecastle. 

Mr.  George  was  very  much  pleased  when  the 

*  The  conversation  was  a  discussion,  and  not  a  dispute,  for  it 
was  calm,  quiet,  and  good-tempered  throughout.  A  dispute  is  an 
angry  discussion. 


24  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  pros  and  cons.        The  real  question.         Passengers  on  the  forecastle. 

boys  brought  the  question  to  him.  Indeed,  al 
most  all  people  are  pleased  when  boys  come  to 
them  in  an  amicable  manner,  to  have  their  con 
troversies  settled.  Then,  besides,  he  inferred 
from  the  nature  of  the  question  that  had  arisen 
in  this  case,  that  Waldron  was  a  boy  of  consid 
erable  thinking  powers^  or  else  he  would  not 
have  taken  any  interest  in  a  purely  intellectual 
question  like  this. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  George,  "that  is  quite  a 
curious  question.  But  before  I  decide  it  you 
must  first  both  of  you  give  me  your  reasons. 
What  •  nakes  you  think  nothing  is  an  odd  num 
ber,  Waldron?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Waldron,  hesitating. 
"  I  think  it  looks  kind  of  odd." 

Mr.  George  smiled  at  this  reason,  and  then 
asked  Hollo  what  made  him  think  it  was  an 
even  number. 

"I  don't  think  it  is  an  even  number,"  said 
Eollo.  "  I  don't  think  it  is  any  number  at  all. 

"  However,"  continued  Kollo,  "  that  is  not  the 
real  question,  after  all.  The  real  question  is, 
whether  we  shall  go  on  the  forecastle  or  not,  to 
have  a  lookout." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  it  is  not  according 
to  etiquette  at  sea  for  the  passengers  to  go  on 
the  forecastle." 


THE  BOY  THAT  WAS  NOT  LOADED.      25 

The  forecastle  and  a  kitchen  compared.  Mr.  George's  candor. 

"  But  they  do,"  said  Waldron. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  they  sometimes  do, 
I  know  ;  and  sometimes,  under  peculiar  circum 
stances,  it  is  right  for  them  to  go  ;  but  as  a  gen 
eral  rule,  it  is  not.  That  is  the  place  for  the 
sailors  to  occupy  in  working  the  ship.  It  is 
something  like  the  kitchen  in  a  hotel.  What 
should  you  think  of  the  guests  at  a  hotel,  if  they 
went  down  into  the  kitchen  to  see  what  was 
going  on  there  ?  " 

Eollo  laughed  aloud. 

"  But  we  don't  go  to  the  forecastle  to  see  what 
is  going  on  there,"  said  Waldron  ;  "  we  go  for  a 
lookout  —  to  see  what  is  going  on  away  ahead, 
on  the  water." 

"  True,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  and  that  is  a  very 
important  difference,  I  acknowledge.  I  don't 
think  my  comparison  holds  good." 

Mr.  George  was  always  very  candid  in  all  his 
arguing.  It  is  of  very  great  importance  that  all 
persons  should  be  so,  especially  when  reasoning 
with  boys.  It  teaches  them  to  be  candid. 

Just  at  this  time  Waldron's  attention  was  at 
tracted  by  the  appearance  of  a  very  large 
steamer,  which  now  came  suddenly  into  view, 
with  its  great  red  funnel  pouring  out  immense 
volumes  of  black  smoke.  Waldron  ran  over  to 
the  other  side  of  the  deck  to  see  it,  Rollo 


26  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  Castle  of  Dunbarton.  Waldron  lost. 

followed,  and  thus  the  explanation .  which  Mr. 
George  might  have  given,  in  respect  to  the  arith 
metical  nature  and  relations  of  nothing  were 
necessarily  postponed  to  some  future  time. 

About  half  an  hour  after  this,  while  Hollo  was 
sitting  by  the  side  of  his  uncle,  looking  at  the 
map,  and  trying  to  find  out  how  soon  they  should 
come  in  sight  of  the  famous  old  Castle  of  Dun- 
barton,  which  stands  on  a  rocky  hill  upon  the 
banks  of  the  Clyde,  Mr.  Kennedy  came  up  to 
him  to  inquire  if  he  knew  where  Waldron  was. 

Rollo  said  that  he  did  not  know.  He  had  not 
seen  him  for  some  time. 

"  We  can't  find  him  any  where,"  said  Mr. 
Kennedy.  "  We  have  looked  all  over  the  ship. 
His  mother  is  half  crazy.  She  thinks  he  has 
fallen  overboard." 

So  Rollo  and  Mr.  George  both  rose  immedi 
ately  and  went  off  to  see  if  they  could  find  Wal 
dron.  They  went  in  various  directions,  inquiring 
of  every  body  they  met  if  they  had  seen  such  a 
boy.  Several  people  had  seen  him  half  an  hour 
before,  when  he  was  with  Rollo  ;  but  no  one 
knew  where  he  had  been  since.  At  last,  in  about 
ten  minutes,  Rollo  came  running  to  Mrs.  Ken 
nedy,  who  was  walking  about  through  the  cabins 
in  great  distress,  and  said,  hurriedly,  "  I've  found 


THE  BOY  THAT  WAS  NOT  LOADED.      27 

The  lost  boy  found.  Waldron  turned  stoker. 

him;  he  is  safe,"  and  then  ran  off  to  tell  Mr. 
Kennedy. 

Mrs.  Kennedy  followed  him,  calling  out  eagerly, 
"  Where  is  he  ?  Where  is  he  ?  "  Rollo  met  Mr. 
Kennedy  at  the  head  of  the  cabin  stairs,  and  he 
seemed  very  much  rejoiced  to  learn  that  Wal 
dron  was  found.  Rollo  led  the  way,  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Kennedy  followed  him,  until  they  came 
to  a  place  on  the  deck,  pretty  well  forward, 
where  there  was  an  opening  surrounded  by  an 
iron  railing,  through  which  you  could  look  down 
into  the  hold  below.  It  was  very  far  down  that 
you  could  look,  and  at  different  distances  on  the 
way  were  to  be  seen  iron  ladders  going  from 
deck  to  deck,  and  ponderous  shafts,  moving  con 
tinually,  with  great  clangor  and  din,  while  at  the 
bottom  were  seen  the  mouths  of  several  great 
glowing  furnaces,  with  men  at  work  shovelling 
coal  into  them. 

"  There  he  is,"  said  Rollo,  pointing  down. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kennedy  leaned  over  the  railing 
and  looked  down,  and  there  they  beheld  Wal 
dron,  hard  at  work  shovelling  coal  into  the  mouth 
of  a  furnace,  with  a  shovel  which  he  had  bor 
rowed  of  one  of  the  men.  In  a  word,  Waldron 
had  turned  stoker. 

Mr.  Kennedy  hurried  down  the  ladders  to 


28  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Mr.  Kennedy's  difficulties.  Mr.  George  proposes  a  remedy. 

bring  Waldron  up,  while  Mr.  George  and  Hollo 
went  back  to  the  deck. 

About  an  hour  after  this  Mr.  Kennedy  came 
and  took  a  seat  on  a  settee  where  Mr.  George 
was  sitting,  and  began  to  talk  about  Waldron. 

"  He  is  the  greatest  plague  of  my  life,"  said 
Mr.  Kennedy.  "  I  don't  know  what  I  shall  do 
with  him.  He  is  continually  getting  into  some 
mischief.  I  have  shut  him  up  a  close  prisoner  in 
the  state  room,  and  I  am  going  to  keep  him  there 
till  we  land.  But  it  will  do  no  good.  It  will 
not  be  an  hour  after  he  gets  out  before  he  will  be 
in  some  new  scrape.  You  know  a  great  deal 
about  boys ;  I  wish  you  would  tell  me  what  to  do 
with  him." 

"  I  think,  if  he  was  under  my  charge,"  said  Mr. 
George,  very  quietly,  "  I  should  load  him." 

"  Load  him  ? "  repeated  Mr.  Kennedy,  in 
quiringly. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  I  mean  I  should 
give  him  a  load  to  carry." 

"  I  don't  understand,  exactly,"  said  Mr.  Ken 
nedy.  "  What  is  your  idea  ?  " 

"  My  idea  is,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  that  a  grow 
ing  boy,  especially  if  he  is  a  boy  of  unusual 
capacity,  is  like  a  steam  engine  in  this  respect. 
A.  steam  engine  must  always  have  a  load  to 


THE  BOY  THAT  WAS  NOT  LOADED.     29 

Boys  and  steam  engines.  Necessity  of  giying  them  a  "  load." 

carry,  —  that  is,  something  to  employ  and  absorb 
the  force  it  is  capable  of  exerting,  —  or  else  it  will 
break  itself  to  pieces  with  it.  The  force  will  ex 
pend  itself  on  something,  and  if  you  don't  load 
it  with  something  good,  it  will  employ  itself  in 
mischief. 

"  Here  now  is  the  engine  of  this  ship,"  con 
tinued  Mr.  George.  "  Its  force  is  conducted  to 
the  paddle  wheels,  where  it  has  full  employment 
for  itself  in  turning  the  wheels  against  the  im 
mense  resistance  of  the  water,  and  in  carrying 
the  ship  along.  This  work  is  its  load.  If  this 
load  were  to  be  taken  off,  —  for  example,  if  the 
steamer  were  to  be  lifted  up  out  of  the  water  so 
that  the  wheels  could  spin  round  in  the  air,  —  the 
engine  would  immediately  stave  itself  to  pieces, 
for  want  of  having  any  thing  else  to  expend  its 
energies  upon." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Kennedy.  "  I  have  no  doubt 
of  it." 

"  Now,  I  think,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "  that 
it  is  in  some  sense  the  same  with  a  boy  whose 
mental  and  physical  powers  are  in  good  condi 
tion.  These  powers  must  be  employed.  They 
hunger  and  thirst  for  employment,  and  if  they 
don't  get  it  in  doing  good  they  will  be  sure  to 
find  it  in  some  kind  of  mischief." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Kennedy,  with  a  sigh,  "  there 


30  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

"Waldron  liberated  from  his  prison,  and  placed  in  Mr.  George's  care. 

is  a  great  deal  in  that ;  but  what  is  to  be  done  ? 
You  can't  employ  such  a  boy  as  that.  There  is 
nothing  he  can  do.  I  wish  you  would  take  him, 
and  see  if  you  can  load  him,  as  you  call  it.  Take 
him  with  you  on  this  tour  you  are  going  to  make 
in  Scotland.  I  will  put  money  in  your  hands  to 
cover  his  expenses,  and  you  may  charge  any 
thing  you  please  beyond,  for  your  care  of  him." 

"  Perhaps  his  mother  would  not  like  such  an 
arrangement,"  said  Mr.  George. 

"0,  yes,"  replied  Mr.  Kennedy  ;  "  nothing 
would  please  her  more." 

"  And  would  Waldron  like  it  himself?  "  asked 
Mr.  George. 

"  I  presume  so,"  said  Mr.  Kennedy  ;  "  he  likes 
any  thing  that  is  a  change." 

Mr.  Kennedy  went  down  to  the  state  room 
to  see  Waldron,  and  ask  him  what  he  thought 
of  this  plan.  Waldron  said  he  should  like  it 
very  much.  So  he  was  at  once  liberated  from 
his  confinement,  and  transferred  to  Mr.  George's 
charge. 

"  Now,  Waldron,"  said  Mr.  George,  when 
Waldron  came  to  him,  "  I  shall  want  some  help 
from  you  about  getting  ashore  from  the  boat.  Do 
you  think  you  could  go  ashore  with  Rollo  as 
soon  as  we  land,  and  take  a  cab  and  go  directly 
up  to  the  hotel,  and  engage  rooms  for  us,  while  I 


THE  BOY  THAT  WAS  NOT  LOADED.      31 

Waldron's  first  employment.  Choosing  hotels. 

am  looking  out  for  the  baggage,  and  getting  it 
ready  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  yes,  sir,"  said  Waldron,  eagerly. 
"  I  can  do  that.  What  hotel  shall  I  go  to  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  don't 
know  any  thing  about  the  hotels  in  Glasgow. 
You  must  find  out." 

"Well,"  said  Waldron,  "only  how  shall  I  find 
out  ?  " 

"  I  am  sure  J  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George. 
"  I  leave  it  all  to  you  and  Eollo.  I  am  busy 
forming  my  plans  for  a  tour.  You  and  Rollo 
can  go  and  talk  about  it,  and  see  if  you  can  dis 
cover  any  way  of  finding  out  the  name  of  one  of 
the  best  hotels.  If  you  can't,  after  trying  fifteen 
minutes,  come  to  me,  and  I  will  help  you." 

So  saying,  Mr.  George  began  to  study  his  map 
again,  and  Waldron,  apparently  much  pleased 
with  his  commission,  said,  "  Come,  Kollo,"  and 
walked  away. 


32  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Employment  the  true  remedy  for  a  restless  spirit  among  boys. 


CHAPTER  II. 
DISTRICTS  OF  SCOTLAND. 

I  THINK  that  Mr.  George  was  quite  right  in 
his  idea,  that  the  true  remedy  for  the  spirit  of 
restlessness  and  mischief  that  Waldron  mani 
fested  was  to  employ  him,  or,  as  he  metaphor 
ically  termed  it,  to  load  him.  And  as  this  volume 
will,  perhaps,  fall  into  the  hands  of  many  parents 
as  well  as  children,  I  will  here  remark  that  a 
great  many  good-hearted  and  excellent  boys  fall 
into  the  same  difficulty  from  precisely  the  same 
cause ;  namely,  that  they  have  not  adequate  em 
ployment  for  their  mental  and  physical  powers, 
which  are  growing  and  strengthening  every  day, 
and  are  hungering  and  thirsting  for  the  means 
and  opportunities  of  expending  their  energies. 

Parents  are  seldom  aware  how  fast  their  chil 
dren  are  growing  and  increasing  in  strength, 
both  of  body  and  mind.  The  evidences  of  this 
growth,  in  respect  to  the  limbs  and  muscles  of  the 
body,  are,  indeed,  obvious  to  the  eye  ;  and  as  the 
growth  advances,  we  have  continual  proof  of  the 


DISTRICTS  OF  SCOTLAND.         33 

Boys'  plays.  The  philosophy  of  them. 

pleasure  which  the  exercise  of  these  new  powers 
gives  to  the  possessor  of  them.  The  active  and 
boisterous  plays  of  boys  derive  their  chief  charm 
from  the  pleasure  they  feel  in  testing  and  exer 
cising  their  muscular  powers  in  every  way.  They 
are  always  running,  and  leaping,  and  wrestling, 
and  pursuing  each  other,  and  pushing  each  other, 
and  climbing  up  to  high  places,  and  standing  on 
their  heads,  and  walking  on  the  tops  of  fences, 
and  performing  all  other  possible  or  conceivable 
feats,  which  may  give  them  the  pleasure  of  work 
ing,  in  new  and  untried  ways,  their  muscular  ma 
chinery,  and  feeling  its  increasing  power,  and  in 
producing  new  effects  by  means  of  it.  They  get 
themselves  into  continual  difficulties  and  dangers 
by  these  things,  and  cause  themselves  a  great 
deal  of  suffering.  Still  they  go  on,  for  the  intoxi 
cating  delight  of  using  their  powers,  or,  rather, 
the  irresistible  instinct  which  impels  them  to  use 
them,  has  greater  force  with  them  than  all  other 
considerations. 

We  see  all  this  very  plainly  in  respect  to  the 
action  of  the  limbs  and  organs  of  the  body ;  for 
it  is  palpably  evident  to  our  senses,  and  we  feel 
the  necessity  of  providing  safe  and  proper  modes 
of  expending  these  energies.  Since  we  find,  for 
example,  that  boys  must  kick  something,  we  give 
them  a  football  to  kick  ;  which,  being  a  mere 
3 


34  HOLLO  IN  ^GOTLAND. 

Physical  employment.  Employment  for  the  mind  needed. 

ball  of  wind,  may  be  kicked  without  doing  any 
harm.  And  so  with  almost  all  the  other  play 
things  and  sports  which  are  devised  for  boys,  or 
which  they  devise  for  themselves.  They  are  the 
means,  simply,  of  enabling  them  to  employ  their 
growing  powers  and  expand  their  energies,  with 
out  doing  any  body  any  harm.  We  know  very 
well  that  it  is  not  safe  to  leave  these  powers  and 
energies  unemployed. 

But  we  are  very  apt  to  forget  that  there  are 
powers  and  faculties  of  the  mind,  equally  vigor 
ous,  and  equally  eager  to  be  exercised,  that  ought 
also  to  be  provided  for.  The  strength  of  the 
will,  the  power  of  exercising  judgment  and  dis 
cretion,  the  spirit  of  enterprise,  the  love  of  com 
mand,  and  other  such  mental  impulses,  are  grow 
ing  and  strengthening  every  day,  in  every  healthy 
boy,  and  they  are  all  clamorous  for  employment. 
The  instinct  that  impels  them  is  so  strong  that 
they  will  find  employment  in  some  way  or  other 
for  themselves,  unless  an  occupation  is  otherwise 
provided  for  them.  A  very  large  proportion  of 
the  acts  of  mischievousness  and  wrong  which 
boys  commit  arise  from  this  cause.  Even  boys 
who  are  bad  enough  to  form  a  midnight  scheme 
for  robbing  an  orchard,  are  influenced  mainly  in 
perpetratiog  the  deed,  not  by  the  pleasure  of 
eating  the  apples  which  they  expect  to  obtain  by 


DISTRICTS  OF  SCOTLAND.         35 

Robbing  an  orchard.  The  true  explanation  and  remedy. 

it,  but  by  the  pleasure  of  forming  a  scheme,  of 
contriving  ways  and  means  of  surmounting  diffi 
culties,  of  watching  against  surprises,  of  braving 
dangers,  of  successfully  attaining  to  a  desired 
end  over  and  through  a  succession  of  obstacles 
interposing.  This  view  of  the  case  does  not  show 
that  such  deeds  are  right ;  it  only  shows  the 
true  nature  of  the  wrong  involved  in  them,  and 
helps  us  in  discovering  and  applying  the  remedy. 

At  least  this  was  Mr.  George's  view  of  the 
case  in  respect  to  Waldron,  when  he  heard  how 
often  he  was  getting  into  difficulty  by  his  ad 
venturous  and  restless  character.  He  thought 
that  the  remedy  was,  as  he  expressed  it,  to  load 
him  ;  that  is,  to  give  to  the  active  and  enter 
prising  spirit  of  his  mind  something  to  expend 
his  energies  upon.  It  required  great  tact  and 
discretion,  and  great  knowledge  of  the  habits 
and  characteristics  of  boyhood,  to  enable  him  to 
do  this ;  but  Mr.  George  possessed  these  quali 
ties  in  a  high  degree. 

But  to  return  to  the  story. 

Mr.  George  had  decided  on  coming  into  Scot 
land  from  Liverpool  by  water,  because  that  was 
the  cheapest  way  of  getting  into  the  heart  of  the 
country.  And  here,  in  order  that  you  may  un 
derstand  the  course  of  Rollo's  travels,  I  must 
pause  to  explain  the  leading  geographical  features 


36  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  geographical  features  of  Scotland.         Two  rivers.         The  Tweed. 

of  the  country.  If  you  read  this  explanation 
carefully,  and  follow  it  on  the  map,  you  will  un 
derstand  the  subsequent  narrative  much  better 
than  you  otherwise  would  do. 

You  will  see,  then,  by  looking  at  any  map, 
that  Scotland  is  separated  from  England  by  two 
rivers  which  flow  from  the  interior  of  the  country 
into  the  sea — one  towards  the  east,  and  the  other 
towards  the  west.  The  one  on  the  east  side  is  the 
Tweed.  The  Tweed  forms  the  frontier  between 
England  and  Scotland  for  a  considerable  dis 
tance,  and  is,  therefore,  often  spoken  of  as .  the 
boundary  between  the  two  countries.  Indeed, 
the  phrase  "  beyond  the  Tweed  "  is  often  used  in 
England  to  denote  Scotland.  In  former  times, 
when  England  and  Scotland  were  independent 
kingdoms,  incessant  wars  were  carried  on  across 
this  border,  and  incursions  were  made  by  the 
chieftains  from  each  realm  into  the  territories  of 
the  other,  and  castles  were  built  on  many  com 
manding  points  to  defend  the  ground.  The  ruins 
of  many  of  these  old  castles  still  remain. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  island  the  boundary 
between  England  and  Scotland  is  formed  by  a 
very  wide  river,  or  rather  river's  mouth,  called 
Solway  Frith.  Between  this  Solway  Frith  and 
the  Tweed,  the  boundary  which  separates  the 
two  countries  runs  along  the  summit  of  a  range 


DISTRICTS  OF  SCOTLAND.        37 

Solway  Frith.  The  Forth  and  tho  Clyde. 

of  hills.  This  range  of  hills  thus  forms  a  sort 
of  neck  of  high  land,  which  prevents  the  Tweed 
and  the  Solway  Frith  from  cutting  Scotland  oif 
from  England  altogether,  and  making  a  separate 
island  of  it. 

About  seventy  or  eighty  miles  to  the  north 
ward  of  the  boundary  the  land  is  almost  cut  in 
two  again  by  two  other  rivers,  with  broad 
mouths,  which  rise  pretty  near  together  in  the  in 
terior  of  the  country,  and  flow  —  one  to  the  east 
and  the  other  to  the  west  —  into  the  two  seas. 

These  rivers  are  the  Forth  and  the  Clyde. 
The  Forth  flows  to  the  east,  and  has  a  very  wide 
estuary,*  as  you  will  see  by  the  map.  The  Clyde, 
on  the  other  hand,  flows  to  the  west.  Its  estuary 
is  long  and  crooked. 

The  Forth  and  the  Clyde,  with  their  estuaries, 
almost  cut  Scotland  in  two  ;  and  by  means  of 
them  ships  and  steamers  from  all  parts  of  Eng 
land  and  from  foreign  ports  are  enabled  to  come 
into  the  very  heart  of  the  country. 

The  two  largest  and  most  celebrated  cities  in 
Scotland  are  situated  in  the  valleys  of  these 
rivers,  the  Forth  and  the  Clyde.  They  are 

*  An  estuary  is  a  sort  of  bay,  produced  by  the  widening  of  a 
»iver  at  its  mouth.  Scotland  is  remarkable  for  the  estuaries  which 
are  formed  at  the  mo  iths  of  its  rivers.  They  are  called  there 
friths. 


38  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Edinburgh  on  the  Forth.  Glasgow  on  the  Clyde. 

Edinburgh  and  Glasgow.  Edinburgh  is  on  the 
Forth,  though  situated  at  some  little  distance 
from  its  banks.  Glasgow  is  on  the  Clyde.  There 
is  a  railway  extending  across  from  Edinburgh  to 
Glasgow,  and  also  a  canal,  connecting  the  waters 
of  the  Forth  with  the  Clyde.  The  region  of 
these  cities,  and  of  the  canal  and  railroad  which 
connects  them,  is  altogether  the  busiest,  the  most 
densely  peopled,  and  the  most  important  portion 
of  Scotland ;  and  this  is  the  reason  why  Mr. 
George  wished  to  come  directly  into  it  by  water 
from  Liverpool. 

The  cities  of  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh,  though 
both  greatly  celebrated,  are  celebrated  in  very 
different  ways.  Edinburgh  is  the  city  of  science, 
of  literature,  and  of  the  arts.  Here  are  many 
learned  institutions,  the  fame  and  influence  of 
which  extend  to  every  part  of  the  world.  Here 
are  great  book  publishing  establishments,  which 
send  forth  millions  of  volumes  every  year  — 
from  ponderous  encyclopaedias  of  science,  and 
elegantly  illustrated  and  costly  works  of  art, 
down  to  tracts  for  Sabbath  schools,  and  picture 
books  for  children.  The  situation  of  Edinburgh 
is  very  romantic  and  beautiful ;  the  town  being 
built  among  hills  and  ravines  of  the  most  pic 
turesque  and  striking  character.  When  Scotland 
was  an  independent  kingdom  Edinburgh  was  the 


DISTRICTS  OF  SCOTLAND.        39 

Glasgow.  Its  workshops  and  furnaces. 

capital  of  it,  and  thus  the  old  palace  of  the 
kings  and  the  royal  castle  are  there,  and  the 
town  has  been  the  scene  of  some  of  the  most  re 
markable  events  in  the  Scottish  history. 

Glasgow,  on  the  other  hand,  which  is  on  the 
Clyde,  towards  the  western  side  of  the  island, 
together  with  all  the  country  for  many  miles 
around  it,  forms  the  scene  of  the  mechanical  and 
manufacturing  industry  of  Scotland.  The  whole 
district,  in  fact,  is  one  vast  workshop  ;  being  full 
of  mines,  mills,  forges,  furnaces,  machine  shops, 
ship  yards  and  iron  works,  with  pipes  every 
where  puffing  out  steam,  and  tall  chimneys, 
higher,  some  of  them,  than  the  Bunker  Hill  Monu 
ment,  or  the  steeple  of  Trinity  Church,  in  New 
York.  These  tall  chimneys  are  seen  rising  every 
where,  all  around  the  horizon,  and  sending  up 
volumes  of  dense  black  smoke,  which  comes 
pouring  incessantly  from  their  summits,  and 
thence  floating  majestically  away,  mingles  itself 
with  the  clouds  of  the  sky. 

The  reason  of  this  is,  that  the  strata  of  rocks 
which  lie  beneath  the  ground  in  all  this  region 
consist,  in  a  great  measure,  of  beds  of  coal  and 
of  iron  ore.  The  miners  dig  down  in  almost 
any  spot,  and  find  iron  ore ;  and  very  near  it,  and 
sometimes  in  the  same  pit,  they  find  plenty  of 
coal.  These  pits  are  like  monstrous  wells  ;  very 


4:0  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  coal  and  iron  beds.  Mining  operations. 

wide  at  the  mouth,  and  extending  down  four  or 
five  times  as  far  as  the  height  of  the  tallest 
steeples,  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  Over  the 
mouth  of  the  pit  the  workmen  build  a  machine, 
with  ropes  and  a  monstrous  wheel,  to  hoist  the 
coal  and  iron  up  by,  and  all  around  they  set, up 
furnaces  to  smelt  the  ore  and  turn  it  into  iron. 
Then,  at  suitable  places  in  various  parts  of  the 
country,  they  construct  great  rolling  mills  and 
founderies.  The  rolling  mills  are  to  turn  the 
pig  iron  into  wrought  iron,  and  to  manufacture 
it  into  bars  and  sheets,  and  rails  for  the  rail 
roads  ;  and  the  founderies  are  to  cast  it  into  the 
form  of  great  wheels,  and  cylinders,  and  beams 
for  machinery,  or  for  any  other  purpose  that  may 
be  required. 

The  mines  in  the  valley  of  the  Clyde  were 
worked  first  chiefly  for  the  coal,  and  the  coal  was 
used  to  drive  steam  machinery  for  spinning  and 
weaving,  and  for  other  manufacturing  purposes. 
The  river  was  in  those  days  a  small  and  insignifi 
cant  stream.  It  was  only  about  five  feet  deep,  so 
that  the  vessels  that  came  to  take  away  the  coal 
and  the  manufactured  goods  had  to  stop  near  the 
mouth  of  it,  and  the  cargoes  were  brought  down 
to  them  in  boats  arid  lighters.  But  in  process  of 
time  they  widened  and  deepened  the  river.  They 
dug  out  the  mud  from  the  bottom  of  it,  and  built 


DISTRICTS  OP  SCOTLAND.         41 

Improvements  in  the  Clyde.  James  "Watt. 

walls  along  the  banks  ;  and  in  the  course  of  the 
last  hundred  years,  they  have  improved  it  so 
much  that  now  the  largest  ships  can  come  quite 
up  to  Glasgow.  The  water  is  eighteen  or  twenty 
feet  deep  all  the  way. 

The  Clyde  is  the  river  on  which  steamboats 
were  first  built  in  Great  Britain.  The  man  who 
was  the  first  in  England  or  Scotland  that  found 
a  way  of  making  a  steam  engine  that  could  be 
put  in  a  boat  and  made  to  turn  paddle  wheels  so 
as  to  drive  the  boat  along,  was  James  Watt,  who 
was  born  on  the  Clyde ;  and  he  is  accordingly 
considered  as  the  author  and  originator  of  Eng 
lish  steam  navigation,  just  as  Fulton  is  regarded 
as  the  originator  of  the  art  in  America.  The 
Clyde,  of  course,  very  naturally  became  the  cen 
tre  of  steamboat  and  steamship  building.  The 
iron  for  the  engines  was  found  close  at  hand,  as 
well  as  abundant  supplies  of  coal  for  the  fires. 
The  timber  they  brought  from  the  Baltic.  At 
length,  however,  they  found  that  they  could  build 
ships  of  iron  instead  of  wood,  using  iron  beams 
for  the  framing,  and  covering  them  with  plates 
of  iron  riveted  together  instead  of  planks.  These 
ships  were  found  very  superior,  in  almost  all 
respects,  to  those  built  of  timber  ;  and  as  iron  in 
great  abundance  was  found  all  along  the  banks 
of  the  Clyde,  and  as  the  workmen  in  the  region 


ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 


Steamship  building  on  the  Clyde.  Iron  ships. 

were  extremely  skilful  in  working  it,  the  busi 
ness  of  building  ships  and  steamers  of  this  ma 
terial  increased  wonderfully,  until,  at  length,  the 
banks  of  the  river  for  miles  below  Glasgow  be 
came  lined  with  ship  yards,  where  countless 
steamers,  of  monstrous  length  and  graceful  forms, 
in  all  the  stages  of  construction,  lie  ;  now  sloping 
towards  the  water  and  down  the  stream,  ready  at 
the  appointed  time  to  glide  majestically  into  the 
river,  and  thence  to  plough  their  way  to  every 
portion  of  the  habitable  globe. 

It  was  into  this  busy  scene  of  mechanical  in 
dustry  and  skill  that  our  party  of  travellers  were 
now  coming.  But  before  I  resume  the  narrative 
of  their  adventures,  I  will  say  a  word  about 
those  parts  of  Scotland  which  lie  to  the  north 
and  south  of  these  central  regions  that  are  occu 
pied  by  the  valleys  of  the  Forth  and  the  Clyde. 
The  region  which  extends  to  the  southward  —  that 
is,  which  lies  between  the  valleys  of  the  Forth 
and  the  Clyde  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  English 
frontier  on  the  other  —  is  called  the  southern  part 
of  the  country.  It  consists,  generally,  of  fertile 
and  gently  undulating  land,  which  is  employed 
almost  entirely  for  tillage,  and  is  but  little  vis 
ited  by  tourists  or  travellers. 

The  northern  part  of  Scotland  is,  however,  of 
a  very  different  character  ;  being  wild,  mountain- 


DISTRICTS  OP  SCOTLAND.        43 

The  Scottish  Highlands.  Plan  of  Mr.  George's  tour. 

ous  and  waste,  and  filled  every  where  with  the 
most  grand  and  sublime  scenery.  The  eastern  por 
tion  of  this  part  of  the  island  is  more  level,  and 
there  are  several  large  and  flourishing  towns  on  or 
near  the  shores  of  it,  such  as  Inverness,  Aberdeen, 
Dundee,  Perth,  and  others.  But  the  whole  of  the 
western  side  of  it  consists  of  one  vast  congeries 
of  lakes  and  mountains,  so  wild  and  sombre  in 
their  character  that  they  have  become  celebrated 
throughout  the  world  for  the  gloomy  grandeur 
of  the  scenery  which  they  present  to  the  view. 

These  are  the  famous  Scottish  Highlands.  Mr. 
George's  plan  was  first  to  visit  the  valley  of  the 
Clyde,  and  its  various  mines  and  manufactories, 
and  then  to  take  a  circuit  round  among  the 
Highlands,  on  his  way  to  Edinburgh. 


44  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  rains  among  the  Highlands.  Explanation  of  them. 


CHAPTER  III. 
ARRIVAL  AT  GLASGOW. 

ONE  of  the  greatest  drawbacks  to  the  pleasure 
of  travelling  in  Scotland,  especially  among  the 
Highlands,  is  the  rain.  It  usually  rains  more  in 
mountainous  countries  than  in  those  that  are 
level,  for  the  mountains,  rising  into  the  higher 
and  colder  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  chill  and 
condense  the  vapors  that  are  floating  there,  on 
the  same  principle  by  which  a  tumbler  or  a 
pitcher,  made  cold  by  iced  water  placed  within 
it,  condenses  the  moisture  from  the  air,  upon  the 
outside  of  it,  on  a  summer.'s  day.  It  is  also 
probable  that  the  mountain  summits  produce  cer 
tain  effects  in  respect  to  the  electrical  condition 
of  the  atmosphere,  on  which  it  is  well  known 
that  the  formation  of  clouds  and  the  falling  of 
rain  greatly  depend  —  though  this  subject  is  yet 
very  little  understood.  At  all  events,  the  western 
part  of  Scotland  is  one  of  the  most  rainy  regions 
in  the  world,  and  travellers  who  visit  it  must 
expect  to  have  their  plans  and  arrangements  very 


AEEIVAL  AT  GLASGOW.  45 

A  sudden  storm.  Report  on  hotels. 

often  and  very  seriously  interfered  with  by  the 
state  of  the  weather. 

The  changes  are  quite  unexpected  too  ;  for 
sometimes  you  will  see  dark  masses  of  watery 
vapor,  coming  suddenly  into  view,  and  driving 
swiftly  across  the  sky,  where  a  few  moments  be 
fore  every  thing  had  appeared  settled  and  serene. 
These  scuds  are  soon  followed  by  others,  more 
and  more  dense  and  threatening,  until,  at  last, 
there  come  drenching  showers  of  rain,  which 
drive  every  body  to  the  nearest  shelter,  if  there 
is  any  shelter  at  hand. 

Such  a  change  as  this  came  on  while  Mr. 
George  had  been  making  arrangements  with 
Mr.  Kennedy  for  taking  Waldron  under  his 
charge  ;  and  just  as  Waldron  and  Rollo  had 
gone  away  to  see  what  plan  they  could  devise  in 
respect  to  the  hotel,  it  began  to  rain.  The  clouds 
and  mists,  too,  concealed  the  shores  almost  en 
tirely  from  view,  and  the  passengers  began  to  go 
below.  Mr.  George  followed  their  example.  On 
his  way  he  passed  a  sheltered  place  where  he  saw 
Waldron  and  Rollo  engaged  in  conversation,  and 
he  told  them,  as  he  passed  them,  that  when  they 
were  ready  to  report  they  would  find  Ijim  below. 

In  about  fifteen  minutes  the  boys  came  down 
to  him, 

"  Uncle  George,"  said  Rollo,  "  we  have  found 


46  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Advantages  of  the  Queen's  Hotel.  The  railroad. 

out  that  there  are  a  good  many  excellent  hotels 
in  Glasgow,  but  we  think  we  had  better  go  to 
the  Queen's." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Waldron.  "  It  fronts  on  a 
handsome  square,  where  they  are  going  to  have 
an  exhibition  of  flowers  to-morrow,  with  tents 
and  music." 

"  And  shall  you  wish  to  go  and  see  the  flow 
ers  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Waldron.  "  I  don't  care  much 
about  the  flowers,  but  I  should  like  to  see  the 
tents,  and  to  hear  the  music." 

"  Then,  besides,  uncle  George,"  said  Rollo,  "  we 
are  coming  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  pretty  soon, 
and  as  soon  as  we  get  in  we  shall  come  to  Green- 
ock  ;  and  there  is  a  railroad  from  Greenock  up  to 
Glasgow,  so  that  we  can  go  ashore  there,  if  you 
please,  and  go  up  to  Glasgow  quick  by  the  rail 
road.  A  great  many  of  the  passengers  are  going 
to  do  that." 

"  Do  you  think  that  would  be  a  good  plan  ?  " 
asked  Mr.  George. 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  should  think  it 
would  be  a  good  plan,  if  we  had  not  paid  our 
passage  through  by  the  steamer." 

"  And  what  do  you  think  about  it,  Waldron  ?  " 
asked  Mr.  George. 

"  I  should  like  it,"  said  Waldron.     "  The  fare 


ABBIVAL  AT  GLASGOW.  47 

A  new  trip  proposed.  Boys'  promisee. 

is  only  one  and  sixpence.  I  should  have  pre 
ferred  to  go  up  in  the  steamer  if  it  had  been  pleas 
ant,  so  that  we  could  see  the  ships  and  steamers 
on  the  stocks  ;  but  it  is  so  misty  and  rainy  that 
we  cannot  see  any  thing  at  all.  So,  if  you  would 
go  up  by  the  railroad,  and  then,  to-morrow,  when 
it  is  pleasant,  come  down  a  little  way  again,  on 
one  of  the  steamboats,  to  see  the  river,  I  should 
like  it  "wry  mnch." 

"  But  I  shall  have  to  stay  at  home  to-morrow," 
said  Mr.  George,  "  and  write  letters  to  send  to 
America.  It  is  the  last  day." 

"  Then  let  Rollo  and  me  go  down  by  our 
selves,"  said  Waldron. 

"  Yes,  uncle  George,"  said  Eollo,  "  let  us  go 
by  ourselves." 

"  Ah,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  am  not  sure  that 
that  would  be  safe.  I  am  not  much  acquainted 
with  Waldron  yet,  and  I  don't  know  what  his 
character  is,  in  respect  to  judgment  and  dis 
cretion." 

"  0,  I  think  he  has  got  good  judgment,"  said 
Rollo.  "  We  will  both  be  very  careful." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Waldron,  "  we  certainly  will." 

"  0,  boys'  promises,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  in 
respect  to  such  things  as  that,  are  good  for 
nothing  at  all.  I  never  place  any  reliance  upon 
them  whatever." 


48  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Waldron's  opinion  of  them.  Mr.  George's. 

"  0  uncle  George !  "  exclaimed  Rollo. 

"  Well,  now,  would  you,  if  you  were  in  my 
case?"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  will  leave  it  to  you, 
Waldron.  Suppose  a  strange  boy,  that  you  know 
no  more  about  than  I  do  of  you,  were  to  come  to 
you  with  a  promise  that  he  would  be  very  careful 
if  you  would  let  him  go  somewhere,  and  that  he 
would  not  go  into  any  dangerous  places,  or  ex 
pose  himself  to  any  risks,  —  would  you  think  it 
safe  to  trust  him  ?  " 

"  Why,  no,  sir,"  said  Waldron,  reluctantly.  "I 
don't  think  I  should.  Perhaps  I  might  try  him." 

"According  to  my  experience,"  said  Mr.  George, 
"  you  can't  trust  to  boys'  promises  in  the  least. 
It  is  not  that  they  make  promises  with  the  inten 
tion  of  breaking  them,  but  they  don't  know  what 
breaking  them  is.  A  boy  who  is  not  careful  does 
not  know  the  difference  between  being  careful 
and  being  careless  ;  and  so  he  breaks  his  promise, 
and  then,  if  he  gets  into  any  trouble  by  his  folly, 
he  says,  *  I  did  not  think  there  was  any  harm  in 
that.' 

"  No,"  added  Mr.  George,  in  conclusion,  shaking 
his  head  gravely  as  he  spoke.  "  I  never  place 
any  reliance  on  such  promises." 

"  Then  how  can  you  tell  whether  to  trust  a  boy 
or  not  ?  "  asked  Hollo. 

"  I  never  can  tell,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  until  he 


ARRIVAL  AT  GLASGOW.  49 

A  trial  for  Hollo  and  Waldron.  A  new  commission. 

is  proved.  When  he  is  tried  and  proved,  then 
I  know  him  ;  but  not  before." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  then  let  Waldron  and 
me  go  down  the  river  to-morrow,  if  it  is  pleasant, 
and  let  that  be  for  our  trial." 

"  It  might,  possibly,  be  a  good  plan  to  let  you 
go,  on  that  ground,"  said  Mr.  George.  He  said 
this  in  a  musing  manner,  as  if  considering  the 
question. 

"  I  will  think  of  it,"  said  he.  "  I'll  see  if  I 
can  think  of  any  conditions  on  which  I  can  allow 
you  to  go,  and  I  will  tell  you  about  it  at  the 
hotel.  And  now,  in  regard  to  going  up  to  Glas 
gow.  I'll  leave  it  to  you  and  Waldron  to  decide. 
You  must  go  and  ascertain  all  the  facts  —  such 
as  how  soon  the  train  leaves  after  we  arrive,  and 
how  much  sooner  we  shall  get  up  there,  if  we  go 
in  it.  Then  you  must  take  charge  of  all  the  bag 
gage,  too,  and  see  that  it  goes  across  safe  from 
the  steamer  to  the  station,  and  attend  to  the  whole 
business." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Waldron,  "  we  will.  We'll 
get  a  cab,  and  put  the  baggage  right  in." 

"  Can't  you  get  it  across  without  a  cab  ?  "  said 
Mr.  George.  "  I  don't  see  how  I  can  afford  to 
take  a  cab,  very  well ;  for  you  see  we  have  to  in 
cur  an  extra  expense  as  it  is,  to  go  in  the  cars  at 
4 


50  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

How  to  transport  the  baggage.  A  load  for  Waldron. 

all,  since  we  have  already  paid  our  passage  up 
by  the  steamer." 

"  Well,  sir,"  said  Waldron,  eagerly,  "  we  can 
carry  the  baggage  across  ourselves.  Let  us  go 
and  look  at  it,  Hollo,  arid  see  how  much  there  is." 

So  the  boys  went  off  with  great  eagerness  to 
look  at  the  baggage.  In  a  few  minutes  they  re 
turned  again,  wearing  very  bright  and  animated 
countenances. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Waldron,  "  we  can  take  it 
all  just  as  well  as  not.  I  can  take  your  valise, 
and  Rollo  can  take  my  things,  and  I  can  carry 
your  knapsack  under  my  arm." 

"  0,  I  am  willing  to  help,"  said  Mr.  George. 
"  I  can  help  in  carrying  the  things,  provided  I  do 
not  have  any  care.  If  you  will  count  up  all 
the  things  that  are  to  go,  and  see  that  they  all 
do  go,  and  then  count  them  again  when  we  get 
into  the  railway  carriage,  so  as  to  be  sure  that 
they  are  all  there,  and  thus  save  me  from  respon 
sibility,  that  is  all  I  ask,  and  I  will  carry  any 
thing  you  choose  to  give  me." 

"  Well,  sir,"  said  Waldron. 

Indeed,  Waldron  was  very  much  pleased  to 
find  how  completely  Mr.  George  was  putting  the 
business  under  his  and  Hollo's  charge. 

"  And  now,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  I  think  you' 
had  better  tell  your  father  and  mother  about  this 


ARRIVAL  AT  GLASGOW.  51 

Leaving  the  steamer  for  the  railroad.  Which  is  the  way  ? 

plan  of  our  going  ashore  at  Greenock.  They 
may  like  to  do  so,  too." 

"  0,  they  know  all  about  it,"  said  Waldron, 
and  they  are  going.  Mother  says  that  she  has 
had  enough  of  the  steamer." 

Not  long  after  this  the  steamer  arrived  at 
Greenock,  and  made  fast  to  the  pier.  A  large 
number  of  the  passengers  went  ashore.  The  rain 
had  ceased,  which  was  very  fortunate  for  those 
who  were  to  walk  to  the  station  ;  though,  of 
course,  the  streets  were  still  wet.  As  soon  as  the 
boat  was  made  fast,  Mr.  George  went  to  the 
plank,  and  there  he  found  Waldron  and  Eollo 
ready,  with  the  baggage  in  their  hands.  Mr. 
George  took  his  valise,  though  at  first  Waldron 
was  quite  unwilling  to  give  it  up. 

"  0,  yes,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  I  have  no  ob 
jection  to  hard  work.  What  I  don't  like  is  care. 
If  you  and  Rollo  will  take  the  care  off  my  mind, 
that  is  all  I  ask." 

"  Well,"  said  Waldron,  "  we  will.  And  now  I 
wonder  which  way  we  must  go,  to  get  to  the  sta 
tion." 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George. 
As  he  said  this  his  countenance  assumed  a  vacant 
and  indifferent  expression,  as  if  he  considered 
that  the  finding  of  the  way  to  the  station  was  no 
concern  of  his. 


52  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Railroad  station.  The  baggage. 

"  Ah !  "  exclaimed  Waldron,  "  this  is  the  way. 
See ! "  So  saying,  Waldron  pointed  to  a  sign 
put  up  near  the  end  of  the  pier,  with  the  words 
RAILROAD  STATION  painted  upon  it,  and  a  hand 
indicating  the  way  to  go. 

As  the  sun  had  now  come  out,  the  party  had 
quite  a  pleasant  walk  to  the  station.  Mr.  George 
had  all  his  clothes  in  a  light  and  small  valise 
which  he  could  carry  very  easily  in  his  hand. 
Some  of  Rollo's  clothes  were  in  this  valise,  too, 
and  the  rest  were  in  a  small  carpet  bag.  Wal- 
dron's  were  in  a  carpet  bag,  too.  Besides  these 
things  there  were  some  coats  and  umbrellas  to  be 
carried  in  the  hand,  and  Mr.  George  and  Rollo 
had  each  a  knapsack,  which  they  had  bought  in 
Switzerland.  These  knapsacks  were  hung  at 
their  sides.  They  were  light,  for  at  this  time 
there  was  very  little  in  them. 

Rollo  and  Waldron  stopped  once  in  the  street 
to  inquire  if  they  were  on  the  right  way  to  the 
station ;  and  finding  that  they  were,  they  went 
on,  and  soon  arrived  at  the  gateway.  They  went 
in  at  a  spacious  entrance,  and  thence  ascended  a 
long  and  very  wide  flight  of  stairs,  which  led  to 
the  second  story.  There  they  found  an  area,  cov 
ered  with  a  glass  roof,  and  surrounded  with  offices 
of  various  kinds  pertaining  to  the  station.  In 
the  centre  was  a  train  of  cars,  with  a  locomotive 


ARRIVAL  AT   GLASGOW.  53 

Description  of  the  station.  The  book  stand 

at  the  head  of  it,  apparently  all  ready  for  a  start. 
Passengers  were  walking  to  and  fro  on  the  plat 
form,  and  getting  into  the  carriages. 

On  one  side  was  a  book  stand,  where  a  boy 
was  selling  books.  There  was  a  counter  before, 
and  shelves  against  the  walls  behind.  The 
shelves  were  filled  with  books.  These  books 
were  in  fancy-colored  paper  bindings,  and  seemed 
to  consist  chiefly  of  guide  books  and  tales,  and 
other  similar  works  suited  to  the  wants  of  trav 
ellers. 

Mr.  George  laid  his  valise  down  upon  a  bench 
near  by,  and  began  to  look  at  the  books.  Wal- 
dron  and  Rollo  put  their  baggage  down  in  the 
same  way,  and  followed  his  example. 

While  they  were  standing  there  they  saw  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Kennedy  and  the  two  girls  coming  up 
the  stairs.  They  were  accompanied  by  a  porter. 

Mrs.  Kennedy  stopped  a  moment  to  speak  to 
"Waldron  as  she  went  by. 

"  Now,  Waldron,"  said  she,  "  you  must  be  very 
careful,  and  not  get  into  any  difficulty.  Keep 
close  to  Mr.  George  all  the  time,  and  don't  get 
run  over  when  you  get  in  and  out  of  the  cars. 
You  had  better  button  up  your  jacket.  It  is  very 
damp,  and  you  will  take  cold,  I  am  afraid." 

So  saying,  she  began  to  button  up  Waldron's 


54  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Mrs.  Kennedy's  cautions  to  Waldron.         "  Are  we  to  get  the  tickets  ? " 

jacket  in  front,  giving  it  a  pull  this  way  and  that 
to  make  it  set  better. 

"  Don't,  mother  I"  said  Waldron.  "I'm  so  hot." 

So  he  shook  his  shoulders  a  little  uneasily,  and 
tried  to  turn  away.  But  his  mother  insisted  that 
his  jacket  should  be  buttoned  up,  at  least  part 
way. 

"  Come,  my  dear,"  said  Mr.  Kennedy,  speaking 
to  his  wife ;  "  we  have  no  time  to  lose.  The  train 
is  going." 

So  Mr.  Kennedy  bade  Waldron  good  by,  and 
hurried  on,  and  Waldron  immediately  unbuttoned 
his  jacket  again,  saying  at  the  same  time,  — 

"  Come,  Mr.  George,  it  is  time  for  us  to  go 
aboard." 

"  Have  you  got  the  tickets  ?  "  said  Mr.  George, 
quietly,  still  keeping  his  eyes  upon  a  book  that 
he  was  examining. 

"No,"  said  Waldron.  « Are  we  to  get  the 
tickets?" 

"  Of  course,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  have  noth 
ing  to  do  with  it.  You  and  Rollo  have  under 
taken  to  get  me  to  Glasgow  without  my  having 
any  thought  or  concern  about  it." 

"  Well,  come,  Rollo,  quick  ;  let's  go  and  get 
them.  Where's  the  booking  office  ?  " 

At  the  English  stations  the  place  where  the 
tickets  are  bought  is  called  the  booking  office. 


ARRIVAL  AT  GLASGOW.          55 

The  booking  office.  Too  late  for  the  train. 

It  is  necessary  to  procure  tickets,  or  you  cannot 
commence  the  journey  ;  for  it  is  not  customary, 
as  in  America,  to  allow  the  passengers  the  privi 
lege,  when  they  desire  it,  of  paying  in  the  cars. 

"  Do  you  know  where  the  booking  office  is,  Mr. 
George  ?  "  said  Waldron. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  but  if  you  look 
about  you  will  find  it." 

So  Waldron  and  Rollo  ran  off  to  find  the 
office.  It  was  down  stairs.  Before  they  came 
back  with  the  tickets  the  train  was  gone. 

"  It  is  no  matter,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  Indeed, 
I  think  it  is  my  fault  rather  than  yours,  for  it 
was  not  distinctly  understood  that  you  were  to 
get  the  tickets.  There  will  be  another  train 
pretty  soon,  I  presume.  In  the  mean  time  I 
should  like  to  look  at  these  books,  and  you  and 
Eollo  can  amuse  yourselves  about  the  station." 

So  Waldron  and  Rollo  went  off  to  see  if  they 
could  find  a  time  table,  in  order  to  learn  when 
the  next  train  would  go.  They  found  that  there 
would  be  another  train  in  an  hour.  In  the  mean 
time  it  began  to  rain  again,  which  prevented  the 
party  from  taking  a  walk  about  the  town  ;  so 
they  had  to  amuse  themselves  at  the  station  as 
they  best  could. 

There  was  a  refreshment  room  at  the  station, 
and  the  boys  thought  at  first  that  it  would  be  a 


56  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  ride  to  Glasgow.  Scenery. 

good  plan  to  have  something  to  eat ;  but,  finally, 
they  concluded  that  they  would  wait,  and  have  a 
regular  dinner  at  the  coffee  room  of  the  hotel. 
Mr.  George  left  them  to  decide  the  question 
themselves  as  they  thought  best. 

The  hour,  however,  soon  glided  away,  and  at 
the  end  of  it  the  party  took  their  seats  in  the 
train,  and  were  trundled  rapidly  along  the  banks 
of  the  river  to  Glasgow.  The  road  lay  through 
beautiful  parks  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
way,  with  glimpses  of  the  water  here  and  there 
between  the  trees.  The  view  of  the  scenery, 
however,  was  very  much  impeded  by  the  falling 
rain. 


THE  EXPEDITION  PLANNED.       57 

The  Queen's  Hotel.  Advantages  of  going  to  a  hotel  in  a  carriage. 


CHAPTER  IY. 
THE  EXPEDITION  PLANNED. 

THE  boys  were  very  successful  in  their  selection 
of  a  hotel,  for  the  Queen's  Hotel,  in  Glasgow,  is 
one  of  the  most  comfortable  and  best  managed 
inns  in  the  kingdom. 

The  party  rode  to  the  inn,  in  a  cab  which  they 
took  at  the  station  in  Glasgow,  when  the  train 
arrived  there,  instead  of  walking,  as  they  had 
done  in  going  from  the  boat  to  the  station  at 
Greenock.  The  boys  asked  Mr.  George's  advice 
on  this  point,  and  he  said  that,  though  he  was 
unwilling  to  take  any  responsibility,  he  had  no 
objection  whatever  to  giving  his  advice,  when 
ever  they  wished  for  it.  So  he  told  them  that  he 
thought  it  was  always  best  to  go  to  a  hotel  in  a 
carriage  of  some  sort. 

"  Because,"  said  he,  "  in  England  and  Scot 
land,  —  that  is,  in  all  the  great  towns,  —  if  we 
come  on  foot,  they  think  that  we  are  poor,  and 
of  no  consequence,  and  so  give  us  the  worst 
rooms,  and  pay  us  very  little  attention." 


58  ROLLO  IN.  SCOTLAND. 

Ihe  boys  give  up  the  command.       The  boys  installed  in  their  apartments. 

"When  the  cab  arrived  at  the  hotel  Waldron 
said,  — 

"  There,  Mr.  George,  we  have  brought  you 
safe  to  the  hotel.  Now  we  have  nothing  more  to 
do.  We  give  up  the  command  to  you  now." 

"  Yery  well,"  said  Mr.  George. 

Two  or  three  nicely  dressed  porters  and  wait 
ers  came  out  from  the  door  of  the  hotel,  to  re 
ceive  the  travellers  and  wait  upon  them  in.  The 
porters  took  the  baggage,  even  to  the  coats  and 
umbrellas,  and  the  head  waiter  led  the  way  into 
the  house.  Waldron  paid  the  cabman  as  he 
stepped  out  of  the  cab.  He  knew  what  the  fare 
was,  and  he  had  it  all  ready.  Mr.  George  said 
to  the  waiter  that  he  wanted  two  bedrooms, 
one  with  two  beds  in  it.  The  waiter  bowed,  with 
an  air  of  great  deference  and  respect,  and  said 
that  the  chambermaid  would  show  the  rooms. 
The  chambermaid,  who  was  a  very  nice-looking 
and  tidily-dressed  young  woman,  stood  at  the 
foot  of  the  stairs,  ready  to  conduct  the  newly- 
arrived  party  up  to  the  chambers.  She  accord 
ingly  led  the  way,  and  Mr.  George  and  the  boys 
followed — two  neat-looking  porters  coming  be 
hind  with  the  various  articles  of  baggage. 

The  rooms  were  very  pleasant  apartments, 
situated  on  the  front  side  of  the  house,  and  look 
ing  out  upon  a  beautiful  square.  The  square 


THE  EXPEDITION  PLANNED.       59 

The  Square.  Statue  of  Watt. 

was  enclosed  in  a  high  iron  ratling.  It  waa 
adorned  with  trees  and  shrubbery,  and  inter 
sected  here  and  there  with  smooth  gravel  walks. 
In  the  centre  was  a  tall  Doric  column,  with  a 
statue  on  the  summit.  There  were  other  statues 
in  other  parts  of  the  square.  One  of  them  was 
in- honor  of  Watt,  who  is  the  great  celebrity  of 
Glasgow  —  so  large  a  share  of  the  prosperity 
and  wealth  of  the  whole  region  being  due  so 
much  to  his  discoveries. 

"  Now,  boys,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  you  will  find 
water  and  every  thing  in  your  room.  Make 
yourselves  look  as  nice  as  a  pin,  and  then  go 
down  stairs  and  find  the  coffee  room.  When 
you  have  found  it,  choose  a  pleasant  table,  and 
order  dinner.  You  may  order  just  what  you 
please." 

So  Mr.  George  left  the  boys  to  themselves, 
and  went  into  his  own  room. 

In  about  half  an  hour  Rollo  came  up  and  told 
Mr.  George  that  the  dinner  was  ready.  So  Mr. 
George  went  down  into  the  coffee  room,  Rollo 
showing  him  the  way. 

Mr.  George  found  that  the  boys  had  chosen  a 
very  pleasant  table  indeed  for  their  dinner.  It 
was  in  a  corner,  between  a  window  and  the  fire 
place.  There  was  a  pleasant  coal  fire  in  the  fire 
place,  with  screens  before  it,  to  keep  the  glow 


60  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  coffee  room.  Loch  Fine  herring.  The  BroomielaTT, 

of  it  from  the  faces  of  the  guests.  The  room 
was  quite  large,  and  there  was  a  long  table  ex 
tending  up  and  down  the  middle  of  it,  one  of 
which  is  seen  in  the  engraving.  This  table  was 
set  for  dinner  or  supper.  There  were  other 
smaller  tables  for  separate  parties  in  the  dif 
ferent  corners  of  the  room. 

Mr.  George  and  the  boys  took  their  seats  at 
the  table. 

"  We  thought  we  would  have  some  coffee,"  said 
Rollo. 

"  That's  right,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  like  cof 
fee  dinners.  What  else  have  you  got  ?  " 

"  We  have  got  some  Loch  Fine  herring,  and 
some  mutton  chops,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Waldron.  "  You  see  the  Loch 
Fine  herrings  are  very  famous,  and  we  thought 
you  would  like  to  know  how  they  taste." 

By  this  time  the  waiter  had  removed  the  covers, 
and  the  party  commenced  their  dinner.  The  fire, 
which  was  near  them,  was  very  pleasant,  for  al 
though  it  was  June  the  weather  was  damp  and 
cold. 

In  the  course  of  the  dinner  the  boys  introduced 
again  the  subject  of  going  down  the  Clyde  the 
next  day. 

"  The  boat  goes  from  the  Broomielaw,"  said 
Waldron. 


THE   COFFEE  ROOM. 


THE  EXPEDITION  PLANNED.        63 

The  excursion.  The  two  conditions. 

"  The  Broomielaw,"  repeated  Mr.  George ; 
"  what  is  the  Broomielaw  ?  " 

"  Why,  it  is  the  harbor  and  pier,"  said  Wai- 
dron.  "  It  is  below  the  lowest  bridge.  All  the 
boats  that  go  down  the  river  go  from  the  Broom 
ielaw.  They  go  almost  every  hour.  We  can  go 
down  by  a  boat  and  see  the  river,  and  then  we 
can  come  up  by  the  railroad.  That  will  be  just 
as  cheap,  if  we  take  a  second  class  car." 

"  Well,  now,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  I  have  con 
cluded  that  I  should  not  be  willing  to  have  you 
make  this  excursion  except  on  two  conditions ; 
and  they  are  such  hard  ones  that  I  do  not  believe 
you  would  accept  them.  You  would  rather  not 
go  at  all  than  go  on  such  hard  conditions." 

"  What  are  the  conditions  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  I  don't  believe  you  will  accept  them,"  said 
Mr.  George. 

"  But  let  us  hear  what  they  are,"  said  Wal- 
dron.  "  Perhaps  we  should  accept  them." 

"  The  first  is,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  that  when 
you  get  home  you  must  go  to  your  room,  and 
write  me  an  account  of  what  you  see  on  the  ex 
cursion.  Each  of  you  must  write  a  separate 
account." 

"That  we  will  do,"  said  Rollo.  "I  should 
like  to  do  that.  Wouldn't  you,  Waldron  ?  " 

Waldron  seemed  to  hesitate.  Though  he  was 
a  very  active-minded  and  intelligent  boy  in 


64  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  boys  accept  the  conditions.  The  excursion  determined  on. 

respect  to  what  he  saw  and  heard,  he  was  some 
what  backward  in  respect  to  knowledge  of  books 
and  skill  in  writing.  Finally,  he  said  that  he 
should  be  willing  to  tell  Mr.  George  what  he 
saw,  but  he  did  not  think  that  he  could  write  it. 

"  That  is  just  as  I  supposed,"  said  Mr.  George. 
"I  did  not  think  you  would  accept  my  conditions." 

"Well,  sir,  I  will,"  said  Waldron.  "I  will 
write  it  as  well  as  I  can.  And  what  is  the  other 
condition  ?  " 

"  That  you  shall  write  down,  at  the  end  of 
your  account,  the  most  careless  thing  that  you  see 
Hollo  do,  all  the  time  that  you  are  gone,"  said 
Mr.  George,  "and  that  Rollo  shall  write  down 
the  most  careless  thing  he  sees  you  do." 

"But  suppose  we  don't  do  any  careless  things 
at  all,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Then,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  you  must  write 
down  what  comes  the  nearest  to  being  a  careless 
thing.  And  neither  of  you  must  know  what  the 
other  writes  until  you  have  shown  the  papers 
to  me." 

After  some  hesitation  the  boys  agreed  to  both 
these  terms,  and  so  it  was  decided  that  they  were 
to  go  down  the  river.  The  steamer  which  they 
were  to  take  was  to  sail  at  nine  o'clock,  and  so 
they  ordered  breakfast  at  eight.  Mr.  George 
said  that  he  would  go  down  with  them  in  the 
morning  to  the  Broomielaw,  and  see  them  sail. 


DOWN  THE   CLYDE.  65 


The  boys'  return.  Waldron's  account  of  the  trip. 


CHAPTER  Y. 
DOWN  THE   CLYDE. 

THE  boys  returned  in  safety  from  their  excur 
sion  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  In 
fulfilment  of  their  promise  they  immediately  went 
to  their  room,  and  wrote  their  several  accounts 
of  the  expedition.  They  agreed  together  that, 
in  order  to  avoid  repetitions,  Waldron  should 
dwell  most  upon  the  first  part  of  the  trip,  and 
Kollo  upon  the  last  part. 

The  following  is  the  account  that  "Waldron 
wrote :  — 


"  First,  there  was  a  man  standing  by  the  plank, 
that  asked  us  if  we  had  got  our  tickets.  We 
told  him  no.  Then  he  showed  us  where  to  go 
and  get  them.  It  was  at  a  little  office  on  the 
pier.  The  price  of  the  tickets  was  a  shilling. 

"  The  steamboat  was  not  very  large.     There 
was  no  saloon  on  deck,  and  no  awning,  but  only 
seats  on  deck,  and  many  people  sitting  on  them. 
5 


66  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  "kilt."  Description  of  the  river.  Waldron  on  the  bridge. 

"  There  was  a  boy  among  them  who  had  a  kilt 
on.  It  was  the  first  kilt  I  ever  saw.* 

"  We  soon  began  to  go  down  the  river.  The 
sides  of  the  river  were  walled  up,  to  form  piers, 
all  along,  and  there  were  a  great  many  ships  and 
steamers  moored  to  them.  I  saw  several  Ameri 
can  vessels  among  them. 

"  By  and  by,  when  we  got  below  the  town,  the 
river  grew  wider,  and  the  banks  were  sloping, 
but  they  were  paved  all  the  way  with  large  stones. 
This  was  to  prevent  their  being  washed  away  by 
the  swell  of  the  steamers.  There  were  a  great 
many  steamers  going  up  and  down,  which  kept 
the  water  all  the  time  a  swashing  against  the 
banks. 

"  I  went  up  on  the  bridge  where  the  captain 
stood.  There  were  good  steps  to  go  up,  on  the 
side  of  the  paddle  box.  Rollo  would  not  go.  I 
had  a  fine  lookout  from  the  bridge.  The  captain 
was  there.  He  told  me  a  good  many  things 
about  .the  river.  He  said  that  the  river  used  to 
be  only  five  feet  deep,  and  now  it  was  almost 


*  It  would  have  been  better  if  Waldron  had  described  the  kilt ; 
but  I  suppose  he  thought  he  could  not  describe  it  very  well.  It 
is  a  garment  peculiar  to  the  Scotch.  It  consists  of  a  sort  of  sack 
or  jacket,  with  a  skirt  attached  to  it  below,  which  comes  down 
just  below  the  knees.  The  skirt  is  plaited  upon  the  lower  edge 
of  the  jacket,  and  hangs  pretty  full. 


DOWN  THE  CLYDE.  67 

Conversation  with  the  captain.  A  steamer  just  launched. 

twenty,  all  the  way  from  the  sea.  They  dug  it 
out  with  dredging  machines. 

"  I  asked  him  what  they  did  with  the  mud.  He 
said  they  hauled  it  away,  and  spread  it  on  the 
land  in  the  country.  They  made  a  railroad,  he 
said,  on  purpose  to  take  the  mud  away  to  where 
it  was  wanted. 

"  Presently  we  began  to  come  to  the  ship 
yards.  There  was  an  immense  number  of  iron 
ships  on  the  stocks,  building.  The  workmen 
made  a  great  noise  with  their  hammers,  heading 
the  rivets.  There  seemed  to  be  thousands  of 
hammers  going  at  a  time. 

"  The  steamers  all  sloped  towards  the  water, 
and  pointed  down  the  stream.  I  suppose  that 
this  was  so  that  when  they  were  launched  they 
might  go  down  in  the  middle  of  the  channel,  and 
not  strike  the  bank  on  the  opposite  side. 

"  We  met  a  great  many  steamers  coming  up. 
One  I  thought  had  just  been  launched.  She  was 
full  of  workmen.  There  were  a  great  many 
women  running  along  on  the  bank,  where  it  was 
green,  trying  to  keep  up  with  her.  They  were 
almost  all  barefooted.  I  suppose  they  had  been 
down  to  see  her  launched.  I  wish  we  had  been 
a  little  sooner. 

"  When  I  came  down  from  the  bridge  I  looked 
into  the  hold  to  see  the  engine.  I  wanted  to  go 


68  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

A  good  steam  engine.  Hollo's  umbrella. 

down,  but  I  was  afraid  that  Eollo  would  call  it  a 
careless  thing.  Besides,  I  could  see  pretty  well 
where  I  was.  There  were  three  cylinders.  Two 
acted  alternately,  and  the  other  at  the  half 
stroke.  I  thought  this  was  a  very  good  plan  ; 
for  now  the  engine  never  can  get  on  a  poise.  All 
these  cylinders  were  inclined.  The  boiler  was 
perpendicular.  I  never  saw  one  like  it  before. 

"  After  a  while  we  got  below  the  ship  yards, 
and  then  there  was  nothing  more  to  see,  only 
some  green  grounds,  and  some  mountains,  and  a 
castle  on  a  rock.  Then  we  landed  at  Greenock, 
and  came  home  by  the  railroad.  But  Rollo  is 
going  to  write  about  this. 

"  The  most  careless  thing  that  Rollo  did  was 
that  he  came  very  near  leaving  his  umbrella  on 
board  the  boat  at  Greenock." 

Rollo's  account  of  the  excursion  was  as  fol 
lows  :  — 

"  EXCURSION   ON  THE   CLYDE. 

"  Waldron  and  I  went  down  the  Clyde.  We 
went  on  board  the  boat  at  the  Broomielaw,  in 
Glasgow. 

"  The  first  thing  I  observed  was  that  a  Scotch 
man  and  two  boys  came  on  board  with  violins 
and  a  flageolet,  and  began  to  play  to  amuse  the 


DOWN  THE  CLYDE.  69 

Hollo's  account  of  the  trip.  Loch  Lomond.          Dunbarton  Castle. 

company.  At  first  I  could  not  hear  very  well, 
the  steampipe  made  such  a  noise.  Afterwards, 
when  the  pipe  stopped  blowing  off  the  steam,  I 
could  hear  better,  and  I  liked  the  music  very 
well. 

"  By  and  by  one  of  the  boys  came  round  to 
collect  some  money,  and  I  put  in  a  penny.  I  told 
Waldron  that  I  thought  he  need  not  put  in  a  ay 
thing,  as  he  did  not  listen. 

"  There  was  a  boat  came  off  from  the  shore, 
and  a  man  got  out  of  it,  and  came  on  board  our 
steamer  just  as  we  used  to  go  on  board  the 
steamers  on  the  Rhine.  I  wish  we  could  go  and 
travel  on  the  Rhine  again. 

"  When  we  got  below  the  ships  and  ship  yards 
we  came  to  a  part  of  the  river  where  there  were 
parks  and  pleasure  grounds  on  the  banks,  and 
beautiful  houses  back  among  the  trees. 

"  When  we  got  half  way  down  we  stopped  at 
a  pier  where  there  was  a  train  of  cars  to  take 
people  to  Loch  Lomond,  on  the  way  to  the  High 
lands.  Waldron  said  that  we  should  come  there, 
he  supposed,  when  we  go  to  the  Highlands. 

"  A  little  farther  down  we  came  to  a  great 
rocky  hill,  close  by  the  water,  with  a  castle  upon 
it.  The  name  of  it  is  Dunbarton  Castle.  We 
shall  go  by  it  again,  when  we  go  to  the  High 
lands. 


70  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Greenock.  High  hill.  Terrace. 

"  Then  we  came  to  a  great  widening  of  the 
river,  and  not  long  after  that  we  arrived  at 
Greenock  and  landed.  We  thought  that  the  boat 
was  going  to  stop  here,  but  it  did  not.  A  great 
many  of  the  passengers  staid  on  board,  and  a 
great  many  more  came  on  board,  to  go  farther 
down  the  river. 

"  We  went  first  to  the  station,  so  as  to  see 
when  the  trains  went  back  to  Glasgow.  Then 
we  took  a  walk. 

"  We  found  a  street  near  the  depot  with  a  high 
hill  behind  it,  and  close  to  it.  There  were  walls 
and  terraces  all  the  way  up.  and  trees  here  and 
there.  We  looked  up,  and  we  could  see  the 
heads  of  some  children  over  the  topmost  wall. 
They  were  looking  down  to  where  we  were. 
Presently  we  came  to  an  opening,  and  some 
flights  of  steps  and  steep  walks,  and  so  we 
thought  we  would  go  up. 

"  When  we  got  to  the  top  we  found  a  broad 
terrace,  with  a  wall  along  the  front  edge  of  it, 
where  we  could  look  down  upon  the  river  and 
the  town.  The  town  lay  very  narrow  between 
the  river  and  the  foot  of  the  hill.  We  were  up 
very  high  above  the  tops  of  the  houses. 

"  Behind  us,  on  the  terrace,  were  broad  green 
fields  and  gravel  walks,  and  beds  of  flowers,  and 
great  trees  with  seats  under  them.  There  were 


DOWN  THE   CLYDE.  71 

The  omnibus.  Paisley.  Waldron  on  the  bridge. 

a  good  many  nursery  maids  around  there,  with 
children.  The  nursery  maids  sat  on  the  seats, 
and  the  children  played  before  them  with  the 
pebbles  and  gravel. 

"  I  read  in  the  guide  book  about  some  famous 
waterworks  at  Greenock,  but  we  could  not  find 
them.  We  asked  one  man,  who  was  at  work  on 
the  gravel  walks,  if  he  could  tell  us  where  they 
were ;  but  he  only  stared  at  us  and  said  he  did 
not '  knaw  ony  thing  aboot  it.7 

"  After  this  we  went  down  the  hill  again,  and 
took  a  long  walk  along  the  bank  .of  the  river. 
There  was  an  omnibus  going  by,  and  we  wanted 
to  get  into  it  and  see  where  it  would  carry  us ; 
but  we  did  not  know  but  that  it  might  carry  us 
to  some  place  that  we  could  not  get  back  from 
very  soon.  The  name  of  the  place  where  the 
omnibus  went  was  painted  on  the  side  of  it 
but  it  was  a  place  that  we  had  never  heard  of 
before,  and  so  we  did  not  know  where  it  was. 

"  After  this  we  went  back  to  the  station,  and 
then  came  home.  I  thought  from  the  map  that 
we  should  go  through  Paisley  ;  but  we  did  not. 
We  went  over  it.  We  went  over  it,  higher  than 
the  tops  of  the  chimneys. 

"  This  is  the  end  of  my  account ;  and  the  most 
dangerous  thing  I  saw  Waldron  do  was  to  go  up 


72 


KOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 


Mr.  George's  criticisms. 


The  true  way  for  boys  to  write. 


on  the  bridge,  on  board  the  steamer,  and  talk 
there  with  the  captain." 

"  Boys,"  said  Mr.  George,  when  he  had  finished 
reading  these  papers,  "  your  accounts  are  excel 
lent.  The  thing  I  chiefly  like  about  them  is,  that 
you  go  right  straight  on  and  tell  a  plain  story, 
without  spoiling  it  all  by  making  an  attempt  at 
fine  writing.  That  is  the  way  you  ought  always 
to  write.  One  of  these  days  I  mean  to  get  you 
both  to  write  something  for  me  in  my  journal." 


WALKS  ABOUT  GLASGOW.         73 

Two  days  in  Glasgow.  The  Green. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
WALKS  ABOUT   GLASGOW. 

OUR  party  remained  two  days  more  in  Glas 
gow,  and  visited  quite  a  number  of  objects  of 
interest  and  curiosity  in  and  around  the  city. 

At  one  end  of  the  town  there  was  a  large  open 
space,  laid  out  for  a  pleasure  ground  ;  being  some 
what  similar  in  character  to  Boston  Common, 
only  it  lay  on  the  margin  of  the  river,  and  com 
manded  delightful  views,  both  of  the  city  itself 
and  of  the  surrounding  country.  The  grounds 
were  adorned  with  trees  and  shrubbery,  and 
paths  were  laid  out  over  every  portion  of  it,  that 
were  delightful  to  walk  in.  There  were  seats, 
too,  at  every  point  that  commanded  a  pretty 
view.  This  place  was  called  the  Green. 

The  Green  was  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the 
city.  At  the  other  end,  that  is,  towards  the  west, 
there  was  a  region  more  elevated  than  the  rest 
of  the  town,  where  the  wealthy  people  resided. 
The  streets  were  arranged  in  crescents  and  ter 
races,  and  were  very  magnificent.  The  houses 


74  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  stone  houses.  The  cathedral.  The  Necropolis. 

were  almost  all  built  of  stone,  and  were  of  a 
very  massive  and  substantial,  as  well  as  elegant 
character. 

Nearer  the  centre  of  the  town  was  a  very  large 
and  ancient  church,  called  the  cathedral.  It  was 
a  solemn-looking  pile  of  buildings,  standing  by 
itself  in  a  green  yard,  back  from  the  road,  and 
thousands  of  swallows  were  twittering  and  chirp 
ing  high  up  among  the  pinnacles  and  cornices  of 
the  roof.  Although  it  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
crowded  city,  the  whole  structure  wore  an  ex 
pression  of  great  seclusion  and  solitude. 

Behind  the  church,  and  separated  from  it  by  a 
narrow  valley,  there  was  a  steep  hill,  that  was 
covered,  in  every  part,  with  tombs,  and  monu 
ments,  and  sepulchral  enclosures.  The  hill  was 
two  or  three  hundred  feet  high,  and  there  was  a 
very  tall  monument  on  the  top  of  it.  There  was 
a  bridge  across  the  valley  behind  the  cathedral 
leading  to  this  cemetery. 

"  Ah,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  that  is  the  Ne 
cropolis." 

"  The  Necropolis  ?  "  repeated  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  read  about  it  in 
the  guide  book.  Necropolis  means  '  City  of  the 
Dead/  and  it  is  a  city  of  the  dead  indeed." 

There  were  pathways  leading  up  the  side  of 
the  hill  by  many  zigzags  and  windings.  Across 


WALKS  ABOUT  GLASGOW.         75 

Mr.  George  goes  to  the  cathedral.  The  boys  go  to  the  cemetery. 

the  bridge  leading  to  it  was  a  great  iron  gate 
way,  with  a  small  iron  gate  open  in  the  middle 
of  it.  The  boys  wanted  to  go  immediately  to 
the  cemetery,  in  order  to  have  the  pleasure  of 
climbing  up  the  zigzag  paths  to  the  top  of  the 
hill.  But  Mr.  George  said  he  wished  first  to  go 
into  the  cathedral. 

There  was  a  gate  leading  into  the  cathedral 
yard,  and  a  porter's  lodge  just  inside  of  it.  There 
was  a  sign  up  at  the  lodge,  saying  that  the  price 
of  admission  to  see  the  interior  of  the  cathedral 
was  sixpence  for  each  person.  Waldron  said 
that  he  did  not  think  it  was  worth  sixpence  to 
go,  and  Rollo  said  that  he  did  not  care  much 
about  going.'  He  had  seen  cathedrals  enough,  he 
said,  on  the  continent.  So  it  was  agreed  that  the 
boys  should  go  to  the  cemetery,  and  wait  there 
till  Mr.  George  came. 

The  boys  accordingly  went  down  the  walk 
that  led  to  the  bridge.  They  stopped  a  moment 
at  the  open  gate,  not  knowing  whether  it  was 
right  for  them  to  go  in  or  not.  As,  however,  the 
gate  was  open,  and  there  was  nobody  there  to 
forbid  the  passage,  they  stepped  over  the  iron 
threshold,  and  entered.  There  was  a  porter's 
lodge  just  inside,  and  a  man  standing  at  the  door 
of  it. 

"  Can  we  go  in  and  see  the  cemetery  ?  "  asked 
Waldron. 


76  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  Tisitors'  book.  The  ravine. 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  porter.  "  Are  you  stran 
gers  in  Glasgow  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Rollo,  "  we  are  Americans. 
My  uncle  is  in  the  cathedral,  and  he  is  coming 
pretty  soon." 

"  Then  please  to  come  in,"  said  the  porter, 
"  and  enter  your  names  in  the  visitors'  book." 

So  the  boys  went  in.  They  found  a  very 
pleasant  room,  with  a  large  book  open  on  a  desk, 
near  a  window.  They  wrote  their  names  in  this 
book,  and  also  their  residences,  and  they  stopped 
a  few  minutes  to  look  over  the  names  that  had 
been  written  there  before,  in  order  to  see  if  any 
persons  from  America  had  recently  visited  the 
cemetery.  They  found  several  names  of  persons 
from  New  York  on  the  list,  and  two  or  three 
from  Philadelphia.  While  the  boys  were  looking 
over  the  book  the  porter  asked  them  a  great 
many  questions  about  America. 

In  a  few  minutes  they  went  on.  They  stopped 
on  the  middle  of  the  bridge,  and  looked  down 
over  the  balustrade  into  the  ravine.  The  ravine 
was  very  deep,  and  there  was  a  little  brook  at 
the  bottom  of  it.  and  a  sort  of  road  or  street 
along  the  side  of  it,  far  below  them. 

The  boys  then  went  on  into  the  cemetery.  They 
walked  about  it  for  some  time,  ascending  con 
tinually  higher  and  higher,  and  stopping  at  every 
turn  to  read  the  inscriptions  and  monuments.  At 


WALKS  ABOUT  GLASGOW.         77 

Knox's  column.  "  Dag  and  dagger."  The  character  of  Knox. 

length  they  reached  the  summit  of  the  hill,  where 
the  lofty  column  stood  which  had  been  erected 
to  the  memory  of  John  Knox,  the  great  Scottish 
reformer.  The  column  stood  upon  a  pedestal, 
which  contained  an  inscription  on  each  of  the 
four  sides  of  it.  One  of  these  inscriptions  said 
that  John  Knox  was  a  man  who  could  never  be 
made  to  swerve  from  his  duty  by  any  fear  or 
any  danger,  and  that,  although  his  life  was  often 
threatened  by  "  dag  and  dagger,"  he  was  still 
carried  safely  through  every  difficulty  and  dan 
ger,  and  died,  at  last,  in  peace  and  happiness ; 
and  that  the  people  of  Glasgow,  mindful  of  the 
invaluable  services  he  rendered  to  his  country, 
had  erected  that  monument  in  honor  of  his 
memory. 

The  boys  had  just  finished  reading  the  inscrip 
tion,  when,  looking  down  upon  the  bridge,  they 
saw  Mr.  George  coming.  They  went  down  to 
meet  him,  and  then  showed  him  the  way  up  to 
the  monument. 

Mr.  George  first  looked  up  to  the  summit  of  it, 
and  then  walked  all  around  it,  reading  the  in 
scriptions.  He  read  them  aloud,  and  the  boys 
listened. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  John  Knox  was  a  true  hero. 
He  stood  up  manfully  and  fearlessly  for  the  right 
when  almost  all  the  world  was  against  him  ;  and 
to  do  that  requires  a  great  deal  of  courage,  aa 


78  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Mr.  George  and  the  boys  visit  the  manufacturing  establishments. 

well  as  great  strength  of  character.  Many  peo 
ple  reviled  and  hated  him  while  he  lived,  but 
now  his  memory  is  universally  honored. 

"  I  hope  you  two  boys,  when  you  come  to  be 
men,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "will  follow  his 
example.  What  you  know  is  right,  that  always 
defend,  no  matter  if  all  the  world  are  against  it. 
And  what  is  wrong,  that  always  oppose,  no  mat 
ter  if  all  the  world  are  in  favor  of  it." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Waldron,  "  I  mean  to." 

Mr.  George  and  the  boys  rambled  about  the 
Necropolis  some  time  longer,  and  then  went  on. 

While  they  were  in  Glasgow  the  party  visited 
several  of  the  great  manufacturing  establishments. 
They  were  all  very  much  surprised  at  the  lofti 
ness  of  some  of  the  chimneys.  There  was  one 
at  a  great  establishment,  called  the  St.  Rollox 
Chemical  Works,  which  was  over  four  hundred 
and  thirty  feet  high,  and  Mr.  George  estimated 
that  it  must  have  been  thirty  or  forty  feet  diam 
eter  at  the  base.  If,  now,  you  ask  your  father, 
or  some  friend,  how  high  the  steeple  is  of  the 
nearest  church  to  where  you  live,  and  multiply 
that  height  by  the  necessary  number,  you  will  get 
some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  this  prodigious 
column.  The  lightning  rod,  that  came  down  the 
side  of  it  in  a  spiral  line,  looked  like  a  spider's 
web  that  had  been,  by  chance,  blown  against  the 
chimney  by  the  wind. 


ENTERING  THE  HIGHLANDS.      79 

Entering  the  Highlands.  The  usual  route. 


CHAPTER   VII. 
ENTERING  THE  HIGHLANDS. 

THE  Highland  district  of  Scotland  occupies 
almost  the  whole  of  the  western  part  of  the 
island  north  of  the  valley  of  the  Clyde.  It  con 
sists  of  mountains,  glens,  and  lakes,  with  roads 
winding  in  every  direction  through  and  among 
them.  Of  course  the  number  of  different  High 
land  excursions  which  a  tourist  can  plan  is  in 
finite.  Most  visitors  to  Scotland  are,  however, 
satisfied  with  a  short  tour  among  these  mountains, 
on  account  of  the  great  uncertainty  of  the  weather. 
Indeed,  as  it  rains  here  more  than  half  the  time, 
the  chance  is  always  in  favor  of  bad  weather ; 
and  the  really  pleasant  days  are  very  few. 

The  valley  by  which  tourists  from  Glasgow 
most  frequently  go  into  the  Highlands  is  the  val 
ley  of  Loch  Lomond.  The  lower  end  of  this 
lake  comes  to  within  about  ten  miles  of  the 
Clyde.  The  upper  end  of  it  extends  about 
twenty-five  miles  into  the  very  heart  of  the  High 
lands.  There  is  an  inn  at  the  lower  end  of  the 


80  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Mr.  George  prepares  to  leave  Glasgow. 

lake,  that  is,  the  end  nearest  the  Clyde,  called 
Balloch  Inn.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  lake 
is  another  resting-place  for  travellers.  A  small 
steamboat  passes  every  day  through  the  lake, 
from  one  of  these  inns  to  the  other,  touching  at 
various  intermediate  points  on  the  way,  at  little 
villages  or  landing-places,  where  roads  from  the 
interior  of  the  country  come  down  to  the  lake. 

From  Balloch  there  is  a  railroad  leading  to 
the  Clyde,  though  it  does  not  extend  to  Glasgow. 
Travellers  from  Glasgow  come  down  the  Clyde 
in  a  steamer  about  ten  miles  to  the  railroad  land 
ing.  There  they  take  the  cars,  and  proceed  down 
the  river,  along  the  bank,  amidst  scenery  of  the 
grandest  and  most  beautiful  character,  to  Dun- 
barton  Castle,  where  the  road  leaves  the  river, 
and  turns  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  to 
wards  the  valley  of  Loch  Lomond. 

The  road  terminates  at  Balloch.  Here  the 
travellers  are  transferred  to  the  steamer,  and 
pursue  their  journey  by  water.  It  was  this  route 
Mr.  George  had  determined  to  take  on  leaving 
Glasgow. 

He  got  ready  to  leave  Glasgow  on  the  after 
noon  of  a  certain  Thursday. 

"  Now,  boys,"  said  he,  "  we  are  ready  to  go  to 
the  Highlands.  Find  out  for  me  when  the  boats 
and  trains  go,  while  I  settle  the  bill." 


ENTERING  THE  HIGHLANDS.       81 

Settling  the  bill.  How  to  go  to  Balloch. 

So  saying,  Mr.  George  rose  and  rang  the  bell. 

In  Europe  we  do  not  go  down  to  the  office  or 
bar  room,  when  we  are  ready  to  leave  a  hotel,  to 
call  for  and  settle  our  bill  there,  as  we  do  in 
America,  but  we  ring  the  bell  in  our  room,  and 
ask  the  waiter  to  bring  the  bill  to  us. 

"  I  have  found  out  already,"  said  Waldron. 
"  There  is  a  boat  at  four  o'clock.  It  starts  from 
the  Broomielaw." 

"  And  is  there  a  train  that  connects  with  that 
boat  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Waldron. 

"  Then/7  said  Mr.  George,  "  we  will  go  at  four 
o'clock  ;  we  shall  just  have  time." 

I  am  not  certain  that  Waldron  was  entirely 
honest  in  giving  this  information  to  Mr.  George, 
for  he  concealed  one  very  important  circum 
stance  ;  or  rather  he  omitted  to  mention  it. 
This  circumstance  was,  that  there  was  no  boat 
from  Balloch  to  connect  with  the  train,  so  that 
if  they  were  to  go  to  Balloch  that  night,  he  knew 
that  they  could  not  go  any  farther  till  the  next 
morning.  He  liked  this,  for  he  and  Hollo  had 
both  begun  to  be  tired  of  Glasgow,  and  he 
thought  that  if  they  should  get  to  Balloch  two  or 
three  hours  before  dark,  there  might  be  some 
chance  for  him  and  Rollo  to  go  out  fishing  on 
the  lake. 


82  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  party  set  out.  Balloch  Inn. 

Very  soon,  however,  he  reflected  that  he  should 
enjoy  his  fishing  less,  if  he  resorted  to  any  thing 
like  artifice  or  concealment  to  obtain  it ;  and 
so,  after  a  little  hesitation,  he  frankly  told  Mr. 
George  that  they  could  go  no  farther  than  to  the 
foot  of  the  lake  that  night.  There  was  only  one 
boat  each  day,  he  said,  on  the  lake,  and  that  left 
Balloch  in  the  morning,  and  returned  at  night. 

Mr.  George  said  that  that  made  no  difference. 
He  was  tired  of  being  in  a  great  city,  and  would 
like  to  see  the  country  and  the  mountains  again  ; 
and  he  should,  therefore,  prefer  going  to  spend 
the  night  at  Balloch,  rather  than  to  remain  in 
Glasgow. 

So  the  party  set  off.  They  embarked  on  board 
the  steamer  at  the  Broomielaw.  They  ran  rap 
idly  down  the  river  to  the  railroad  landing. 
They  found  the  train  waiting  for  them  there,  and 
were  whirled  rapidly  up  the  valley.  There  were 
most  charming  views  of  the  mountains  on  either 
hand,  with  hamlets  and  villages  scattered  along 
the  slopes  of  them.  At  length  they  arrived  at 
Balloch.  There  was  no  village  here,  but  only  a 
pretty  inn,  situated  delightfully  on  the  margin 
of  the  lake,  very  near  the  outlet.  There  was  an 
elegant  suspension  bridge  across  the  outlet,  very 
near  the  railroad  station.  There  were  several 
thatch-covered  cottages  near,  and  two  or  three 


ENTERING  THE  HIGHLANDS.        83 

The  suspension  bridge.  Fishing  plans. 

castles  were  seen  through  openings  among  the 
trees  on  the  hill -sides  around.  As  the  party 
crossed  the  suspension  bridge,  Rollo  and  Wal- 
dron,  to  their  great  delight,  saw  several  boats 
floating  in  the  water  near  the  inn,  and  there  was 
a  boy  on  the  bridge  fishing  over  the  railing. 
They  stopped  to  talk  with  this  boy,  while  Mr. 
George  went  on  to  engage  rooms  at  the  inn,  and 
to  order  a  supper. 

When  the  boys  came  in  they  gave  such  fine 
accounts  of  the  fishing  on  the  lake,  and  of  the 
facility  with  which  they  could  obtain  a  boat,  and 
a  boatman  to  go  out  with  them,  that  Mr.  George 
was  half  persuaded  to  allow  them  to  engage  a 
boat,  and  to  go  out  with  them  for  an  hour  or 
two. 

"  Arid  we  want  you  to  go  with  us,  too,"  said 
Waldron,  "  if  you  can  ;  but  if  you  have  any 
thing  else  to  do,  we  can  go  by  ourselves,  with 
the  boatman." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  and  if  you  think  it  is 
not  best  for  us  to  go  at  all,  we  can  fish  on  the 
bridge." 

Mr.  George  was  much  pleased  to  hear  the  boys 
speak  in  this  manner  in  respect  to  the  excursion. 
He  was  particularly  glad  to  hear  Waldron  say 
that  he  desired  that  he  should  go  with  them.  It 
is  always  an  excellent  sign  when  a  boy  wishea 


84  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Evenings  in  the  Highlands.  Dawn  and  sunrise. 

his  father,  or  his  mother,  or  his  uncle,  or  who 
ever  has  the  charge  of  him,  to  go  with  him,  and 
share  his  pleasures  ;  and  those  parents  and  uncles 
who  take  an  interest  in  the  plans  and  enjoy 
ments  of  their  children,  and  sympathize  with 
them  in  !;heir  feelings,  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
children  like  their  company,  place  themselves  in 
a  position  to  exercise  the  highest  possible  influ 
ence  over  their  conduct  and  character. 

"  Shall  we  have  time  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Waldron.  "  It  is  not  dark 
here  till  half  past  ten,  and  it  is  only  half  past 
six  now,  so  that  there  are  four  hours. 

The  farther  you  go  north  the  longer  the  even 
ings  are,  in  summer  ;  and  at  the  time  when  our 
party  made  this  visit  to  the  Highlands,  the  even 
ings  there  were  so  long  that  you  could  see  to 
read  very  well  till  nearly  ten  o'clock.  The  dawn, 
and  the  sunrise,  too,  come  on  proportionately 
early  in  the  morning.  The  boys  forgot  this  one 
morning,  and  finding  that  it  was  very  light  in 
their  room  when  they  woke,  they  got  up,  and 
dressed  themselves,  and  went  down  stairs,  think 
ing  that  it  was  nearly  breakfast  time.  But  they 
found,  on  looking  at  a  clock  in  the  hall  of  the 
inn,  that  it  was  not  quite  three  o'clock  1 

But  to  return  to  the  story. 

Mr.  George  told  the  boys  that  if  they  would 


ENTERING  THE  HIGHLANDS.        85 

Fishing  on  Loch  Lomond.  Dialect  of  the  Scottish  boatmen. 

arrange  the  boat  party,  that  is,  if  they  would  en 
gage  the  boat  and  the  boatman,  and  also  some 
fishing  lines,  he  would  go  'with  them.  They 
would  have  supper  first,  and  then  set  out  imme 
diately  afterwards. 

This  plan  was  carried  into  effect.  Mr.  George 
himself  cared  nothing  about  the  fishing.  His 
only  object  was  to  see  the  lake,  and  talk  with 
the  Highland  boatmen.  Still  he  took  a  line  and 
fished  a  little,  for  company  to  the  boys.  The 
excursion  proved  a  very  pleasant  one.  The  lake 
was  beautiful.  The  surface  of  the  water  was 
studded  with  pretty  islands,  and  the  shores  were 
formed  of  picturesque  hills,  which  were  every 
where  adorned  with  cottages,  castles,  groves, 
fields,  and  all  the  other  elements  of  rural  beauty. 

The  excursion  itself  was  very  much  like  any 
fishing  excursion  in  America,  only  the  peculiar 
dialect  of  the  boatman  continually  reminded  the 
travellers  that  they  were  in  Scotland.  For  "  I 
don't  know,"  he  said  "  I  dinna  ken ;"  for  "trouble" 
the  word  was  "  fash,"  and  for  "  not,"  "  na."  The 
boys  had  heard  this  phraseology  before.  The 
railway  porter,  when,  he  put  Mr.  George's  valise 
in  the  carriage,  crowded  it  under  the  seat,  where 
he  said  it  would  not  "  fash  the  other  travellers  ; " 
and  at  the  inn,  where  Mr.  George  asked  the  ser 
vant  girl  if  she  would  let  them  know  when  their 


86  ROLLO    IN    SCOTLAND. 

"Yes,  sir,  I  will  coom  and  tak  ye  doon."  Shetland  ponies. 

supper  was  ready,  she  said,  "  Yes,  sir,  I  will  coom 
and  tak  ye  doon." 

Waldron  enjoyed  the  fishing  excursion  very 
much  indeed.  He  said  that  he  should  like  to 
make  the  whole  tour  of  Scotland  in  a  boat,  round 
among  the  islands  on  the  western  and  northern 
shores.  These  islands  are,  indeed,  very  grand 
and  picturesque.  They  are  groups  of  dark  moun 
tains,  rising  out  of  the  sea.  To  cruise  among 
them  in  a  yacht  would  be  a  very  pleasant  tour, 
wera  it  not  for  the  incessant  storms  of  wind  and 
rain  to  which  the  voyagers  would  be  exposed. 

Waldron  said  he  particularly  desired  to  go  to 
the  Shetland  Islands,  on  the  north  of  Scotland, 
in  order  to  buy  himself  a  pony. 

u  My  father  has  promised  me,"  said  he,  "  that 
if  ever  he  goes  to  the  Shetlands  he  will  buy  me  a 
pony." 

"  I  should  like  a  Shetland  pony,"  said  Hollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Waldron.  "  They  are  very  hardy 
animals,  and  then  they  are  very  docile  and  gen 
tle.  Some  of  them  are  as  gentle  and  sagacious 
as  a  dog.  I  read  a  story  in  a  book  once  of  one 
that  saved  the  life  of  a  child,  by  plunging  into 
the  water,  and  seizing  the  child  by  the  clothes, 
between  his  teeth,  and  bringing  it  safe  to  land. 
The  child  fell  into  the  water  off  of  a  steep  bank, 
and  the  horse  jumped  after  it." 


ENTERING  THE  HIGHLANDS.        87 


Pony  saving  the  child.  Visit  to  the  caatle. 


THE  SHETLAND   PONY. 

Here  is  a  picture  of  the  horse  which  Waldrou 
read  about,  climbing  up  the  bank  of  the  stream, 
bringing  the  child. 

The  party  returned  from  the  fishing  excursion 
about  eight  o'clock  ;  but  as  it  was  still  half  an 
hour  before  sunset,  Mr.  George  proposed  to  take 
a  walk  to  one  of  the  castles.  The  waiter  at  the 
hotel  had  told  them  that  he  could  give  them  a 
ticket,  and  then  the  porter  at  the  castle  would 
let  them  in  at  the  gate,  and  allow  them  to  walk 


88  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  porter's  lodge.  The  avenue.  The  park. 

about  the  grounds  and  around  the  castle,  but 
they  could  not  go  into  it,  for  the  proprietor  and 
his  family  were  residing  there. 

Accordingly,  when  the  party  reached  the  land 
ing,  at  the  end  of  their  excursion,  they  left  the 
boat,  and  walking  across  the  bridge,  they  took 
their  course  towards  the  castle.  The  road  was 
as  smooth  and  hard  as  a  floor,  but  it  was  bor 
dered  by  close  stone  walls  on  either  side,  with 
trees  overhanging  them.  At  length,  after  one  or 
two  turnings,  they  came  to  the  great  gate  which 
led  to  the  castle.  The  gateway  was  bordered 
on  each  side  with  masses  of  trees  and  shrubbery, 
and  just  within  it  was  a  small  but  very  pretty 
house,  built  of  stone.  This  was  the  porter's 
lodge.  When  they  came  up  to  the  gate,  and 
looked  through  the  bars  of  it,  a  little  barefooted 
girl  came  out  from  the  door  of  the  lodge,  and 
opened  the  gate  to  let  them  in. 

On  entering  they  found  themselves  at  the  com 
mencement  of  a  smoothly  gravelled  avenue,  which 
led  in  a  winding  direction  among  the  trees, 
through  a  beautiful  park.  They  walked  on  along 
this  avenue,  supposing  that  it  would  lead  them 
to  the  castle.  They  passed  various  paths  which 
branched  off  here  and  there  from  the  avenue,  and 
seemed  to  lead  in  various  directions  about  the 
grounds.  The  views  which  presented  themselves 


ENTERING  THE   HIGHLANDS.        89 

The  tower.  Disadvantages  of  life  in  a  castle. 

on  every  side  were  varied  and  beautiful.  They 
saw  several  hares  leaping  about  upon  the  grass  — 
a  sight  which  attracted  the  attention  of  the  boys 
very  strongly. 

At  length  they  came  in  sight  of  the  castle.  It 
stood  on  a  swell  of  ground,  at  the  foot  of  a  high 
hill.  The  body  of  it  consisted  in  part  of  a  great 
round  tower,  with  turrets  and  battlements  above. 
The  walls  were  covered  with  ivy. 

After  viewing  the  edifice  as  much  as  they 
wished,  the  party  followed  some  of  the  winding 
walks,  which  led  in  various  directions  over  the 
grounds  j  and,  though  every  thing  had  a  finished 
and  beautiful  appearance,  still  the  whole  scene 
wore  a  very  sombre  expression. 

"  It  must  be  a  very  solitary  sort  of  grandeur, 
in  my  opinion,"  said  Mr.  George,  "which  a  man 
enjoys  by  living  in  such  a  place  as  this." 

"  Why,  I  suppose  he  can  have  company  if  he 
wishes,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  Perhaps  he  lives 
in  Edinburgh,  or  in  London,  in  the  winter,  and 
in  the  summer  he  has  company  here.  But  then 
when  he  has  company  at  all  he  must  have  them 
all  the  time,  and  he  must  have  all  the  care  and 
responsibility  of  entertaining  them  :  and  that,  I 
should  think,  would  be  a  great  burden." 

Mr.  George  and  the  boys  rambled  over  these 


90  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

A  storm  threatened.  Plan  for  the  morrow. 

grounds  about  half  an  hour,  and  then  they  re 
turned  to  the  hotel.  They  were  obliged  to  walk 
fast  the  last  part  of  the  way,  for  dark,  driving 
clouds  began  to  be  seen  in  the  sky,  and  just  be 
fore  they  reached  the  hotel  some  drops  of  fine 
rain  began  to  fall. 

"  To-morrow  is  going  to  be  a  rainy  day,  I  ex 
pect,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Yery  likely,"  said  Mr.  George. 

"  And  shall  you  go  on  over  the  lake  if  it  is  ?  " 
asked  Rollo. 

"  I  think  we  shall  go  as  far  as  to  the  foot  of 
Ben  Lomond,"  said  Mr.  George. 


ROWERDENNAN    INN.  91 


Ben  Lomond.  Description  of  the  lake. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ROWERDENNAN    INN. 

BEN  LOMOND  is  one  of  the  highest  peaks 
in  Scotland.  There  are  one  or  two  that  are 
higher,  but  they  are  more  remote,  and  conse 
quently  less  known.  Ben  Lomond  is  the  one 
most  visited,  and  is,  accordingly,  the  one  that  is 
most  renowned. 

It  lies  on  the  east  side  of  Loch  Lomond,  about 
half  way  between  the  head  of  the  lake  and  the 
outlet.  Our  party  were  now  at  the  outlet  of  the 
lake,  and  were  going  the  next  morning  towards 
the  head  of  it.  The  outlet  of  the  lake  is  towards 
the  south.  In  this  southern  part,  as  I  believe  I 
have  already  said,  the  lake  is  about  ten  miles 
wide,  and  its  banks  are  formed  of  hills  and  val 
leys  of  fertile  land,  every  where  well  cultivated, 
and  presenting  charming  scenes  of  verdure  and 
fruitfulness.  The  lake,  too,  in  this  portion  of  it, 
is  studded  with  a  great  number  of  very  pic 
turesque  and  pretty  islands. 

As  you  go  north,  however,  the  lake,  or  loch,  as 


92  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  mountains  on  Loch  Lomond.  Rowerdennan  Inn. 

the  Scotch  call  it,  contracts  in  breadth,  and  the 
land  rises  higher  and  higher,  until  at  length  you 
see  before  you  a  narrow  sheet  of  water,  shut  in 
on  either  hand  with  dark  and  gloomy  mountains, 
the  sides  of  which  are  covered  every  where  with 
ferns  and  heather,  and  seem  entirely  uninhabited. 
They  descend,  moreover,  so  steep  to  the  water 
that  there  seems  to  be  not  even  room  for  a  path 
between  the  foot  of  the  mountains  and  the  shore. 
The  highest  peak  of  these  sombre-looking  hills 
is  Ben  Lomond  ;  which  rises,  as  I  have  before 
said,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  loch,  about  mid 
way  between  the  head  of  the  loch  and  the  outlet. 
At  the  foot  of  the  mountain  there  is  a  point  of 
land  projecting  into  the  water,  where  there  is  an 
inn.  Tourists  stop  at  this  inn  when  they  wish  to 
ascend  the  mountain.  Other  persons  come  to  the 
inn  for  the  purpose  of  fishing  on  the  loch,  or  of 
making  excursions  by  the  footpaths  which  pene 
trate,  here  and  there,  among  the  neighboring 
highlands.  There  is  a  ferry  here,  too,  across  the 
loch.  There  is  no  village,  nor,  indeed,  are  there 
any  buildings  whatever  to  be  seen  ;  so  that  the 
place  is  as  secluded  and  solitary  as  can  well  be 
imagined.  It  is  known  by  the  name  of  Rower 
dennan  Inn.  It  was  at  this  point  that  Mr.  George 
proposed  to  stop,  in  case  the  day  should  prove 
rainy. 


ROWERDENNAN    INN.  93 

Prospect  of  bad  weather.  The  steamboat. 

When  the  boys  rose  the  next  morning,  the  first 
thing  was  to  look  out  of  the  window,  to  see  what 
the  promise  was  in  respect  to  the  weather.  It 
was  not  raining,  but  the  sky  was  overcast  and 
heavy. 

"  Good,"  said  Waldron.  "  It  does  not  rain 
yet,  but  it  will  before  we  get  to  Rowerdennan 
Inn." 

Waldron  was  glad  to  see  that  there  was  a 
prospect  of  unfavorable  weather,  for  he  wished 
to  stop  at  the  inn.  He  had  read  in  the  guide 
book  that  they  had  boats  and  fishing  apparatus 
there,  and  he  thought  that  if  they  stopped  per 
haps  another  plan  might  be  formed  for  going  out 
on  the  loch  a-fishing. 

The  steamer  was  to  leave  at  nine  o'clock.  The 
boys  could  see  her  lying  at  the  pier,  about  half  a 
mile  distant  from  them.  The  air  was  misty,  and 
there  were  some  small  trees  in  the  way,  but  the 
boys  could  see  the  chimney  distinctly.  They 
dressed  themselves  as  soon  as  they  could,  and 
went  to  Mr.  George's  room.  They  knocked 
gently  at  the  door.  Mr.  George  said,  u  Come 
in."  They  went  in  and  found  Mr.  George  seated 
at  a  table,  writing  in  his  journal.  It  was  about 
seven  o'clock. 

Mr.  George  laid  aside  his  writing,  and  after 
bidding  the  boys  good  morning,  and  talking  with 


94  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  morning  exercise.  Advantages  of  it. 

them  a  few  minutes  about  the  plans  of  the  day, 
took  a  testament  which  he  had  upon  a  table 
before  him,  and  read  a  few  verses  from  one  of 
the  Gospels,  explaining  the  verses  as  he  read 
them.  Then  they  all  knelt  down  together,  and 
Mr.  George  made  a  short  and  simple  prayer,  ask 
ing  God  to  take  care  of  them  all  during  the  day, 
to  guard  them  from  every  danger,  to  make  them 
kind  and  considerate  towards  each  other,  and 
towards  all  around  them,  and  to  keep  them  from 
every  species  of  sin. 

This  was  the  way  in  which  Mr.  George  always 
commenced  the  duties  of  the  day,  when  travel 
ling  with  Rollo,  whether  there  were  any  other 
persons  in  company  or  not ;  and  a  most  excellent 
way  it  was,  too.  Besides  the  intrinsic  propriety 
of  coming  in  the  morning  to  commit  ourselves  to 
the  guardian  care  and  protection  of  Almighty 
God,  especially  when  we  are  exposed  to  the  vicis 
situdes,  temptations,  and  dangers  that  are  always 
hovering  about  the  path  of  the  traveller  in  for 
eign  lands,  the  influence  of  such  a  service  of 
devotion,  brief  and  simple  as  it  was,  always 
proved  extremely  salutary  on  Hollo's  mind,  as 
well  as  on  the  minds  of  those  who  were  associ 
ated  with  him  in  it.  It  made  them  more  gentle, 
and  more  docile  and  tractable ;  and  it  tended 
very  greatly  to  soften  those  asperities  which  we 


ROWERDENNAN    INN.  95 

Going  to  the  railway  station.  A  short  ride  in  the  cars. 

often  see  manifesting  themselves  in  the  inter 
course  of  boys  with  each  other. 

When  the  devotional  service  was  finished,  Mr. 
George  sent  the  boys  down  stairs,  to  make  ar 
rangements  for  breakfast.  In  about  half  an  hour 
Hollo  came  up  to  say  that  breakfast  was  ready  in 
the  coffee  room,  and  Mr.  George  went  down. 

After  breakfast  Mr.  George  took  the  valise, 
and  the  boys  took  the  other  parcels  of  baggage, 
and  they  all  went  over  the  bridge  to  the  railway 
station.  They  waited  here  a  short  time,  until  at 
length  the  train  came.  They  would  have  walked 
on  to  the  pier,  where  the  boat  in  which  they 
were  going  to  embark  was  lying,  but  it  was  be 
ginning  to  rain  a  little,  and  Mr.  George  thought 
it  would  be  better  to  wait  and  go  in  the  cars. 
The  distance  was  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  and  the  boys  were  quite  curious  to  know 
what  the  price  of  the  tickets  would  be,  for  such 
a  short  ride.  They  found  that  they  were  three 
pence  apiece. 

The  train  came  very  soon,  bringing  with  it 
several  little  parties  of  tourists,  that  were  going 
into  the  Highlands.  They  all  seemed  greatly 
chagrined  and  disappointed  at  finding  that  it 
was  beginning  to  rain. 

When  the  train  stopped  opposite  the  pier,  the 
passengers  hurried  across  the  pier,  and  over  the 


96  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Scene  on  board  the  boat.  Staying  on  deck. 

plank,  on  board  the  boat.  The  rain  was  falling 
fast,  and  every  thing  was  dripping  wet.  The 
gentlemen  went  loaded  with  portmanteaus,  carpet 
bags,  valises,  and  other  parcels  of  baggage,  while 
the  women  hurried  after  them,  holding  their  um 
brellas  in  one  hand,  and  endeavoring,  as  well  as 
they  could,  to  lift  up  their  dresses  with  the  other. 
The  boat  was  very  small,  and  there  was  no  shel 
ter  whatever  from  the  rain  on  the  deck.  Most 
of  the  company,  therefore,  hurried  down  into  the 
cabin. 

"Are  you  going  down  into  the  cabin,  too, 
uncle  George  ?  "  said  Rollo. 

"  Not  I,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  Rain  or  no  rain, 
I  am  going  to  see  the  shores  of  Loch  Lomond." 

There  was  a  heap  of  baggage  near  the  centre 
of  the  boat,  covered  with  a  tarpauling.  Mr. 
George  put  his  valise  and  the  knapsacks  under 
the  covering,  with  the  other  travellers'  effects, 
and  then  began  to  look  about  for  seats.  There 
was  a  range  of  wooden  benches  all  along  the 
sides  of  the  deck,  but  they  were  very  wet,  and 
looked  extremely  uncomfortable.  The  water, 
however,  did  not  stand  upon  them,  for  they  were 
made  of  open  work,  on  purpose  to  let  the  water 
through. 

"  If  we  only  had  some  camp  stools,"  said  Mr. 
George,  "  we  could  get  sheltered  seats  under  the 


ROWERDENNAN    INN. 


97 


Viewing  the  scenery  of  Loch  Lomond. 


lee  of  the  baggage ;  but  as  it  is,  we  must  make 
the  best  of  these." 


VIEWING   THE   SCENERY   OF   LOCH    LOMOND. 

So  he  folded  his  shawl  long  enough  to  make  a 
cushion  for  three  persons,  and  laid  it  down  on 
one  of  the  benches.  He  sat  down  himself  upon 
the  centre  of  it,  and  the  boys  took  their  places 
on  each  side.  Mr.  George  then  spread  his  um 
brella,  and  the  boys,  by  sitting  very  close  to  him 
7 


98  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  storm  increases.  Going  below.  The  spiral  staircase. 

could  both  come  under  it.  By  the  time  they 
were  thus  established  the  boat  had  left  the  pier, 
and  was  gliding  smoothly  away  over  the  waters 
of  the  lake,  with  green  and  beautifully  wooded 
islands  all  around.  In  the  distance  up  the  lake, 
wherever  the  opening  of  the  clouds  afforded  a 
view,  it  was  seen  that  the  horizon  was  bounded, 
and  the  waters  of  the  lake  were  shut  in,  with 
dark  and  gloomy-looking  mountains,  the  summits 
of  which  were  entirely  concealed  from  view. 

After  a  short  time  the  rain  increased,  and  all 
the  scenery,  except  such  islands  and  portions  of 
the  shore  as  came  very  near  the  track  of  the 
steamer,  was  soon  entirely  hidden.  The  wind 
blew  harder,  too,  and  drove  the  rain  in  under 
the  umbrella,  so  that  our  travellers  were  begin 
ning  to  get  quite  wet. 

"Suppose  I  go  below/7  said  "Waldron,  "and  see 
what  sort  of  a  place  the  other  passengers  have 
found  down  there." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Rollo ;  "  it  is  so  wet  here,  and 
besides,  I  am  beginning  to  be  cold." 

"  We  will  all  go,"  said  Mr.  George. 

So  they  all  went  below.  They  descended  one 
at  a  time,  by  a  small  spiral  staircase,  near  the 
stern,  which  led  them  into  the  cabin  of  the  boat. 
The  cabin  presented  to  view  quite  an  extraordi 
nary  spectacle. 


ROWERDENNAN    INN.  99 

The  cabin.          .  The  philosophical. 

It  was  a  small  room,  being  not  much  more 
than  fifteen  feet  wide.  Along  the  sides  of  it 
were  seats  made  of  carved  oak,  and  very  comfort 
ably  cushioned.  Above  was  a  row  of  small 
windows,  through  which  you  could  look  out  by 
kneeling  on  the  seats.  At  the  end  of  the  cabin 
were  a  fireplace  and  a  grate.  There  was  a 
coal  fire  burning  in  the  fireplace,  and  several  of 
the  passengers  were  hovering  around  it  to  warm 
and  dry  themselves.  Others  were  looking  out 
of  the  windows,  vainly  endeavoring  to  obtain 
some  glimpses  of  the  scenery.  A  great  many  of 
them  were  uttering  exclamations  of  disappoint 
ment  and  vexation,  at  finding  all  the  pleasure 
of  their  excursion  spoiled  thus  by  the  cold  and 
the  rain. 

Some  of  the  travellers,  however,  more  philo 
sophical  than  the  rest,  seemed  to  take  their  ill 
luck  quite  patiently.  There  was  one  group  that 
opened  their  knapsacks  at  one  of  the  side  tables, 
and  were  taking  breakfast  together  there  in  a 
very  merry  manner. 

Mr.  George  and  the  two  boys  went  to  the  fire, 
and  stood  there  to  warm  themselves,  listening,  in 
the  mean  time,  to  the  exclamations  and  remarks 
of  the  various  groups  of  passengers,  which  they 
found  quite  amusing.  In  the  mean  time  the 
steamer  went  on,  bringing  continually  new  points 


100  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  landings.  View  of  Ben  Lomond  in  the  clouds. 

of  land  and  new  islands  into  view.  She  stopped, 
too,  now  and  then,  at  landings  along  the  margin 
of  the  lake ;  and  on  these  occasions  Rollo  and 
Waldron  always  went  up  on  deck,  to  witness  the 
operation  of  bringing  the  steamer  to,  and  to  see 
who  went  on  shore. 

They  had  a  list  of  these  landings  on  the  tickets 
which  they  had  bought  of  the  captain  of  the 
boat,  as  soon  as  they  came  on  board.  When 
they  found  that  the  next  landing  was  Rowerden- 
nan,  all  the  party  went  up  on  deck.  The  rain, 
they  now  found,  had  ceased.  Indeed,  the  sky 
looked  quite  bright,  and  several  of  the  passen 
gers  were  standing  on  the  wet  deck,  watching 
for  glimpses  of  the  mountains,  which  appeared 
here  and  there  through  the  openings  in  the 
clouds.  They  saw  repeatedly  the  dark  and 
gloomy  sides  of  Ben  Lomond  ;  but  a  canopy  of 
dense  and  heavy  clouds  rested  upon  and  con 
cealed  the  summit. 

The  boys  obtained  a  glimpse  of  a  stone  house, 
nearly  enveloped  in  trees,  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  shore,  as  they  approached  the  land. 
This  they  supposed  was  the  inn,  as  there  was  no 
other  house  in  sight. 

The  steamer  drew  up  to  the  pier.  The  pier 
was  very  small.  It  was  built  of  timbers,  and 
extended  a  little  way  out  over  the  water,  from  a 


The  pier.  Going  on  shore.  Road  to  the  inn. 

solitary  place  on  the  shore.  Every  passenger 
that  left  the  boat  had  to  pay  twopence  for  the 
privilege  of  landing  upon  it.  The  porter  of  the 
inn  stood  there,  with  a  leather  bag  hung  over  his 
neck,  to  collect  this  toll.  On  this  occasion,  how 
ever,  he  got  only  sixpence,  as  Mr.  George  and 
the  two  boys  were  the  only  passengers  that 
landed. 

The  place  was  very  wild  and  solitary.  There 
was  no  house,  or  building  of  any  kind,  in  sight. 
There  was  a  narrow  road,  however,  that  led 
along  the  shore  of  the  lake,  from  the  pier  to 
wards  the  point  of  land  which  the  steamer  had 
passed  in  coming  to  the  pier,  and  the  porter  told 
Mr.  George  that  that  was  the  road  that  led  to 
the  inn. 

"  If  you  will  walk  on,"  said  the  porter,  "  I  will 
bring  your  luggage." 

There  were  some  boards  and  small  timbers  on 
the  deck  of  the  vessel,  which  were  to  be  landed 
here,  and  the  porter  remained  in  order  to  receive 
them,  while  Mr.  George  and  the  boys  went  on. 
They  soon  came  to  the  inn.  They  entered  it 
from  behind,  through  a  very  pleasant  yard,  sur 
rounded  with  trees  and  gardens,  and  out-build 
ings  of  various  kinds.  Mr.  George  went  in, 
followed  by  the  boys,  and  was  shown  into  the 
coffee  room.  From  the  windows  of  this  room 


lf[2v  *     ;  SofcLo  ritfu  SCOTLAND. 

View  of  the  lake  from  the  inn.  Plans  of  occupation. 

there  was  a  very  pretty  view  of  the  lake,  through 
an  opening  among  the  trees  of  the  garden. 

"  And  now  what  are  we  going  to  do  ?  "  said 
Waldron,  after  they  had  all  looked  at  the  view 
as  much  as  they  wished. 

"  I  am  going  to  have  a  fire,"  said  Mr.  George, 
"  and  then  sit  down  here  and  make  myself  com 
fortable  until  it  clears  away.  You  and  Rollo  can 
join  me,  or  you  can  form  any  other  plan  that  you 
like  better." 

"  We'll  go  a-fishing,"  said  Waldron. 

"  Or  else  go  up  on  Ben  Lomond,"  said  Rollo. 
"  How  high  is  Ben  Lomond,  uncle  George  ?  " 

"It  is  between  three  and  four  thousand  feet," 
said  Mr.  George.  "  We  will  all  go  up  to-morrow 
if  it  clears  away." 

But  Waldron  did  not  wish  to  go  up  the  moun 
tain.  He  preferred  to  go  a-fishing  on  the  lake. 
He  did  not  express  his  preference  very  strongly 
at  this  time,  but  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon 
he  persuaded  Rollo  that  it  would  be  a  great  deal 
better  for  them  to  go  out  a-fishing  on  the  lake, 
and  perhaps  go  across  the  lake  to  the  opposite 
shore,  rather  than  to  go  up  the  mountain  ;  and 
he  induced  Rollo  to  join  him  in  a  request  that 
Mr.  George  would  let  them  go  out  on  the  lake, 
while  he  went  up  the  mountain,  if  he  wished  to 
ascend  it. 


ROWERDENNAN    INN.  103 

Waldron's  plan.       The  boys'  mistake.       Object  of  Mr.  George's  journey. 

"  We  can  have  a  boat  and  a  boatman,"  said 
Waldron.  "  The  boatman  will  row  us,  and  take 
care  of  us,  and  that  will  be  perfectly  safe.  And 
Rollo  would  like  that  plan  best,  too." 

In  forming  this  scheme  Waldron  and  Rollo 
made  a  mistake  ;  and  it  was  a  mistake  that  boys 
are  very  apt  to  fall  into  when  they  are  invited  to 
go  on  excursions  with  their  parents,  or  uncles,  or 
older  brothers.  It  is  naturally  to  be  supposed 
that  the  tastes  and  inclinations  of  boys,  in  such 
cases,  should  often  be  different  from  those  of  the 
grown  persons  they  are  with,  and  should  lead 
them  to  wish  frequently  to  deviate,  more  or  less, 
from  the  plans  formed.  But  it  is  a  great  source 
of  inconvenience  to  those  whom  they  are  with  to 
have  them  often  propose  such  deviations.  In  this 
case,  for  example,  Mr.  George  had  come  a  long 
distance,  and  incurred  very  heavy  expenses,  for 
the  purpose  of  seeing  the  Scottish  Highlands. 
Unless  he  could  now  really  see  them,  of  course 
all  his  time  and  money  would  be  lost.  The 
pleasure  of  going  a-fishing  is,  doubtless,  often 
very  great,  but  this  was  not  the  time  nor  the 
place  for  enjoying  it.  In  acceding  to  the  ar 
rangement  to  come  with  Mr.  George  to  the 
Highlands,  the  boys  ought  to  have  considered 
themselves  joined  with  him  in  a  tour  for  in 
struction  and  improvement,  and  as  committed  to 


104  ROLLO   IN   SCOTLAND. 

Duty  of  Rollo  and  Waldron.  Advice  to  boys  and  girla 

the  plans  which  he  might  form,  from  time  to 
time,  for  accomplishing  the  objects  of  the  tour. 
By  proposing,  as  they  did,  to  deviate  on  every 
occasion  from  these  plans,  and  wishing  to  turn 
aside  from  the  proper  duty  of  tourists,  in  search 
of  such  boyish  pleasures  as  might  be  enjoyed 
just  as  well  at  home,  they  failed  signally  in  ful 
filling  the  obligations  which  they  incurred  in 
undertaking  the  tour  under  Mr.  George's  charge. 

Let  all  the  boys  and  girls,  therefore,  who  read 
this  book,  remember  that  whenever,  either  by  in 
vitation  or  otherwise,  they  are  joined  to  any 
party  of  which  a  grown  person  has  charge,  or 
when  they  accompany  a  grown  person  on  any 
excursion  whatever,  they  go  to  share  his  pleas 
ures,  not  to  substitute  their  own  for  his,  and  thus 
to  interfere  with  and  thwart  the  plans  which  he 
had  formed.  Boys  often  violate  this  rule  from 
want  of  thought,  and  without  intending  to  do 
any  thing  wrong.  This  was  the  case  in  this  in 
stance,  in  respect  to  Waldron  and  Rollo. 

"  They  are  good  boys,"  said  Mr.  George  to 
himself,  in  thinking  of  the  subject.  "  They  do 
not  mean  to  do  any  thing  wrong ;  but  they  do 
not  understand  the  case.  I  will  take  an  oppor 
tunity  soon  to  explain  it  to  them." 

It  is  no  time,  however,  to  explain  to  a  boy 
why  it  is  not  best  that  he  should  do  a  particular 


ROWERDENNAN    INN.  105 

Conditions.  The  proposal  agreed  to. 

thing,  when  he  wishes  to  do  it  and  you  forbid 
him.  His  mind  is  then  too  much  occupied  with 
his  disappointment,  and  perhaps  with  vexation, 
to  listen  to  the  reasons.  Forbid  him,  if  it  is 
necessary  to  do  so,  but  reserve  the  explanation 
till  some  future  time. 

Mr.  George  got  over  the  difficulty  in  this  case 
in  a  very  pleasant  manner  to  all  concerned.  The 
rain  ceased  entirely  about  noon,  but  the  paths  on 
the  mountain  he  knew  would  be  too  wet  to  make 
it  agreeable  to  ascend  that  day ;  so  he  told  the 
boys  that  if  they  would  find  the  boat  and  the 
man,  and  make  all  the  arrangements,  he  would 
go  out  with  them  on  the  lake  ;  and  that,  if  they 
would  agree  to  write  a  chapter  for  his  journal, 
and  write  it  as  well  as  they  had  written  their 
accounts  of  their  excursion  to  Greenoc '?,  he 
would  stop  an  hour  on  the  way,  to  let  them  fish. 

"  And  then,"  said  he,  "  we'll  all  ascend  the 
mountain  together  to-morrow." 

This  proposal  was  readily  agreed  to  on  the 
part  of  the  boys,  and  the  compact  was  accord 
ingly  made.  They  engaged  the  boat  and  the 
man,  and  after  dinner  they  all  three  embarked. 
The  rain  had  ceased,  but  the  sky  was  covered 
with  clouds,  and  heavy  masses  of  mist  were 
driving  along  the  sides  and  over  the  summits  of 
the  mountains.  The  weather,  however,  remained 


106  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

A  shower  on  the  lake.  Success  in  fishing. 

tolerably  favorable  until  the  boat  had  nearly 
reached  the  opposite  shore  of  the  lake  ;  but  then 
a  dense  mass  of  clouds  came  down  from  the 
mountains  on  the  eastern  side,  and  the  whole 
shore  was  soon  concealed  from  view  by  the 
driving  scuds  and  the  falling  rain.  The  boat 
man  pulled  hard  to  reach  the  shore  before  the 
shower  should  come  on.  The  gust  overtook 
them,  however,  when  they  were  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  the  landing.  Fortunately  the  wind, 
though  very  violent,  was  fair,  and  it  drove  them 
on  towards  the  shore.  Mr.  George  and  the  boys 
sat  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  at  the  stern, 
and  spreading  a  large  umbrella  behind  them, 
they  sheltered  themselves  as  well  as  they  could 
from  the  wind  and  the  rain.  The  poor  boatman 
got  very  wet. 

Tney  found  shelter  when  they  reached  the 
land,  and  soon  the  shower  passed  away.  Then, 
after  rambling  about  a  short  time  among  the 
huts  and  cottages  of  the  village  where  they 
landed,  they  set  out  again  on  their  return.  They 
stopped  to  fish  at  a  short  distance  from  the  shore 
on  the  eastern  side,  and  were  quite  successful. 
The  boys  caught  several  trout,  which  they  re 
solved  to  have  fried  for  their  breakfast  the  next 
morning.  While  they  were  fishing  Mr.  George 
eat  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  studying  his  guide 


ROWERDENNAN    INN.  107 

Rob  Roy.  How  to  go  up  a  mountain.  Ascent  of  Ben  Lomond. 

books,  and  learning  all  he  could  about  the  re 
markable  events  in  the  life  of  Rob  Roy,  the 
great  Highland  chieftain,  who  formerly  lived  on 
the  shores  of  Loch  Lomond,  and  performed  many 
daring  exploits  there,  which  have  given  him  a 
great  name  in  Scottish  history. 

It  was  a  little  after  nine  o'clock  when  they 
returned  to  the  inn. 

The  next  morning  the  plan  of  ascending  the 
mountain  was  carried  into  effect.  Mr.  George 
hired  two  horses,  intending  to  take  turns  with 
the  boys  in  riding  them.  By  having  two  horses 
for  three  riders,  each  one  could,  of  course,  ride 
two  thirds  of  the  way.  This  is  better  than  for 
each  one  to  ride  all  the  way,  as  that  is  very  tire 
some.  Both  in  ascending  and  descending  moun 
tains  it  relieves  and  rests  the  traveller  to  walk  a 
part  of  the  way. 

The  top  of  the  mountain  was  distinctly  in 
sight  from  the  inn,  and  almost  the  whole  course 
of  the  path  which  led  up  to  it,  for  there  were  no 
woods  to  intercept  the  view.  The  distance  was 
five  or  six  miles.  The  path  was  a  constant  and 
gradual  ascent  nearly  all  the  way,  and  lay 
through  a  region  entirely  open  in  every  direc 
tion.  There  was  a  perfect  sea  of  hills  on  every 
side,  all  covered  with  moss,  ferns,  and  heather, 
with  scarcely  a  tree  of  any  kind  to  be  seen, 


108  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  descent.  Mr.  George's  explanation. 

except  those  that  fringed  the  shores  of  the  lake 
down  in  the  valley.  The  view  from  the  summit 
was  very  extended,  but  the  wind  blew  there  so 
bleak  and  cold  that  the  whole  party  were  very 
glad  to  leave  it  and  come  down,  after  a  very 
brief  survey  of  the  prospect. 

In  coming  down  the  mountain  the  party 
stopped  at  a  spring,  to  rest  themselves  and  to 
drink  ;  and  here,  as  they  were  sitting  together 
on  the  flat  stones  that  lay  about  the  spring,  Mr. 
George  explained  to  the  two  boys  what  I  have 
already  explained  in  this  chapter  to  the  reader, 
in  respect  to  the  duty  of  boys,  when  travelling 
under  the  charge  of  a  grown  person,  to  fall  in 
with  their  leader's  plans,  instead  of  forming  in 
dependent  plans  of  their  own. 

"  When  you  are  at  home,"  said  he,  "  and  play 
ing  among  yourselves,  and  with  other  persons  of 
your  own  age,  then  you  can  form  your  own  plans, 
and  arrange  parties  and  excursions  for  just  such 
purposes  and  objects  as  you  think  will  amuse  you 
most.  But  we  are  now  travelling  for  improve 
ment,  not  for  play.  We  are  making  a  tour  in 
Scotland  for  the  purpose  of  learning  all  we  can 
about  Scotland,  with  a  view  to  obtain  more  full 
and  correct  ideas  respecting  it  than  we  could  ob 
tain  by  books  alone.  So  we  must  attend  to  our 
duty,  and  be  content  with  such  enjoyments  and 


ROWERDENNAN    INN.  109 

Waldron's  resolution.  Taking  notes. 

such  pleasures  as  come  in  our  way,  and  not  turn 
aside  from  our  duty  to  seek  them." 

The  boys  both  saw  that  this  was  reasonable 
and  right,  and  they  promised  that  thenceforth  they 
would  act  on  that  principle. 

"  We  won't  ask  to  go  a-fishing  again  all  the 
time  we  are  in  Scotland,"  said  Waldron. 

"  That's  right,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  And  now 
as  soon  as  we  get  to  the  hotel  it  will  be  time  for 
the  boat  to  come  along ;  and  all  the  rest  of  our 
adventures  to-day  you  and  Hollo  must  write  an 
account  of,  to  put  into  my  journal.  You  will  not 
write  the  account  till  you  get  to  Stirling ;  but 
you  had  better  take  notice  of  what  we  do,  and 
what  we  see,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  write  it  when 
we  arrive." 

"  May  we  take  notes  ?  "  asked  Hollo. 

"  Certainly,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  That  will  be 
an  excellent  plan.  Have  a  small  piece  of  paper 
and  a  pencil  at  hand,  and  when  you  see  any 
thing  remarkable,  make  a  memorandum  of  it. 
That  will  help  you  very  much  when  you  come  to 
write." 

This  plan  was  carried  into  effect.  The  boys 
wrote  their  account,  and  after  it  was  duly  cor 
rected  it  was  carefully  transcribed  into  Mr. 
George's  journal.  It  was  as  follows.  Rollo 
wrote  one  half  of  it,  and  Waldron  the  other. 


110  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  Trossachs.  The  boys'  account  of  their  tour. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  TOUE  OF  THE  TROSSACHS. 

"  THE  Trossachs  is  the  name  of  a  narrow 
gorge  among  the  mountains.  It  begins  at  the 
end  of  a  lake,  and  extends  about  two  or  three 
miles.  The  sides  are  covered  with  forests,  and 
there  are  high,  sharp  rocks  seen  every  where, 
peeping  out  among  the  trees. 

"  The  pass  of  the  Trossachs  is  not  in  the  same 
valley  that  Loch  Lomond  lies  in,  but  in  another 
valley  almost  parallel  to  it,  about  five  miles  on0. 
There  is  high  land  between.  We  had  to  cross 
this  high  land  on  foot,  or  in  a  carriage.  The 
plan  was  to  go  up  the  lake  a  few  miles  farther, 
to  a  landing  called  Inversnaid,  and  there  leave 
the  boat,  and  go  across  the  mountains. 

"  When  it  was  nearly  time  for  the  boat  to 
come,  we  took  our  valise  and  other  things,  and 
walked  along  the  shore  path  till  we  came  to  the 
pier.  We  overtook  some  other  people  who  were 
going  in  the  boat,  too.  A  soldier  came  along, 
also.  He  was  one  of  the  sappers  and  miners, 


THE  TOUE  OF  THE  TKOSSACHS.    Ill 

Sappers  and  miners.        Hollo's  conversation  with  his  fellow-passenger. 

that  we  saw  on  the  top  of  Ben  Lomond.  He 
told  me  that  he  came  down  to  get  some  things 
that  were  coming  in  the  boat.* 

"  We  waited  on  the  pier  a  few  minutes,  and 
then  we  saw  the  boat  coming  around  a  point  of 
land.  As  soon  as  she  came  up  to  the  pier  we  all 
got  in,  and  a  gentleman  and  two  ladies  came  on 
shore. 

"  The  weather  was  very  pleasant,  and  so  we 
did  not  go  down  into  the  cabin.  All  the  pas 
sengers  were  on  the  deck,  looking  at  the  moun 
tains.  I  talked  with  some  of  them.  One  party 
came  from  New  York,  and  the  gentleman  asked 
me  what  there  was  to  see  at  Rowerdennan  Inn  ; 
and  so  I  told  him  about  our  going  across  the 
lake,  and  about  our  ascending  the  mountain.  He 
said  he  wished  that  he  had  landed,  too,  so  that 
he  might  go  up  the  mountain,  since  it  proved  to 
be  such  a  pleasant  day. 

"  Uncle  George  gave  Waldron  and  me  leave 
to  go  up  on  the  bridge  to  see  the  mountains 
before  us,  up  the  lake.  They  looked  very  dark 
and  gloomy.  The  captain  was  there.  He  told 


*  The  boys  had  seen  a  party  of  sappers  and  miners,  as  they  are 
called,  that  is,  military  engineers,  who  were  established  on  the 
top  of  Ben  Lomond,  in  a  hut  which  they  had  built  there.  They 
were  employed  there,  in  connection  with  other  sappers  and  miners 
on  the  other  mountains  around,  in  making  a  survey  of  Scotland. 


112 


ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 


Conversation  with  the  captain. 


The  boys  on  the  bridge. 


us  the  names  of  the  mountains  that  were  in  sight. 
He  said  that  when  we  landed  at  Inversnaid  we 
should  go  across  the  high  land,  and  then  should 
come  to  another  lake,  where  there  was  another 
steamboat,  only  she  had  not  commenced  her  trips 
yet,  and  so  we  should  have  to  go  down  the  other 
lake  in  a  row  boat.  Waldron  and  I  were  both 
glad  of  that. 


BOYS   ON  THE  BRIDO1. 


THE  TOUR  OF  THE  TEOSSACHS.    113 

Inversnaid.  The  machines. 

"  At  last  we  came  to  Inversnaid.  We  thought 
it  would  be  a  town,  but  it  was  not.  It  was.  only 
an  inn  on  the  slope  of  the  mountain,  near  the 
shore,  and  by  the  side  of  a  waterfall.  We 
walked  up  a  steep  path  to  the  inn,  from  the  pier. 
We  had  to  pay  twopence  apiece  for  the  privi 
lege  of  landing  on  the  pier.  Uncle  George 
asked  us  whether  we  would  rather  walk  or  ride 
across  the  high  land  to  the  other  valley.  We 
said  we  did  not  care.  He  said  that  he  would 
rather  ride.  So  he  engaged  one  of  the  machines. 
They  call  the  carriages  machines.  There  were 
two  standing  in  the  inn  yard.  There  were  two 
seats  to  these  carriages,  but  no  top,  and  very  lit 
tle  room  for  any  baggage.  So  it  was  lucky  for 
us  that  we  had  so  little. 

"  While  the  hostler  was  harnessing  the  horse 
we  went  to  see  the  waterfall.  There  was  a  path 
leading  to  it  through  the  bushes.  There  was  a 
small  foot  bridge  over  the  stream,  just  below  the 
waterfall,  where  we  could  stand  and  see  the 
water  tumbling  down  over  the  rocks. 

"  While  we  were  there  they  called  us  to  tell  us 
that  the  machine  was  ready.  So  we  went  back 
to  the  inn.  There  were  two  machines  ready  at 
the  door.  One  was  for  another  party.  There 
was  a  lady  in  that  machine,  and  it  was  just  start 
ing.  Ours  was  just  starting,  too.  They  told  us 
8 


114  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Walking  up  the  hill.  Appearance  of  the  country. 

that  there  was  a  steep  hill  at  the  beginning, 
and  that  it  was  customary  for  the  gentlemen  to 
walk  up. 

"  So  we  walked  up.  The  road  lay  along  the 
brink  of  a  deep  ravine,  with  the  brook  that 
made  the  waterfall  tumbling  along  over  the  rocks 
at  the  bottom  of  it. 

"  When  we  got  to  the  top  of  the  hill  the  ma 
chine  stopped,  and  we  all  got  in.  Waldron  rode 
on  the  front  seat  with  the  driver,  and  uncle 
George  and  I  rode  behind. 

"  The  country  was  very  wild  and  dreary. 
There  was  nothing  to  be  seen  all  around  but 
hills  and  mountains,  all  covered  with  brakes  and 
ferns,  and  moss  and  heather.  There  were  no 
woods,  no  pastures,  no  fields,  and  no  farm  houses. 
It  was  the  dreariest-looking  country  I  ever  saw. 
In  the  middle  of  the  way  we  came  to  some  old 
stone  hovels,  with  thatched  roofs  —  very  dismal- 
looking  dwellings  indeed.  There  was  usually 
one  door  and  one  little  window  by  the  side  of  it. 
The  window  was  about  as  big  as  you  would 
make  for  a  horse,  in  the  side  of  a  stable.  I 
looked  into  one  of  these  hovels.  There  was  no 
floor,  only  flat  stones  laid  in  the  ground,  and 
scarcely  any  furniture.  The  Irish  shanties,  where 
they  are  making  railroads  in  America,  are  very 
pretty  houses  compared  to  them. 


THE  TOUR  OP  THE  TROSSACHS.    115 

The  duke.  More  travellers.  Wheelbarrow  travelling. 

"The  driver  told  us  that  the  whole  country 
belonged  to  a  duke.  He  keeps  it  to  shoot  grouse 
in,  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  The  grouse  is  a  bird 
like  a  partridge.  They  live  on  the  heather.  I 
saw  some  of  them  flying  about. 

"  The  road  was  very  good.  The  duke  made 
it,  the  driver  said.  We  could  see  the  road  a 
great  way  before  us,  along  the  valley.  By  and 
by  we  saw  some  people  coming.  They  were  a 
great  way  off,  but  we  could  see  that  they  were 
travellers,  by  the  umbrellas,  and  shawls,  and 
knapsacks  they  had  in  their  hands.  Presently 
we  could  see  a  man  coming  up  a  hill  just  before 
them  with  a  wheelbarrow  load  of  trunks  that  he 
was  wheeling  along.  So  we  knew  that  it  was  a 
party  of  travellers,  coming  across  from  Loch  Ka 
trine  to  Loch  Lomond ;  but  we  wondered  why 
they  did  not  take  a  machine,  and  ride. 

"  When  we  came  up  to  them  we  stopped  a  mo 
ment  to  talk  to  them.  There  were  two  gentle 
men  and  two  ladies.  One  of  the  ladies  looked 
pretty  tired.  They  said  that  there  were  no  ma 
chines  on  the  side  of  the  mountain  where  they 
came  from,  and  that  there  was  a  party  there, 
that  arrived  before  them,  who  had  engaged  the 
first  machines  that  should  come ;  and  so  they 
\vere  obliged  to  walk,  and  to  have  their  trunks 
wheeled  over  on  a  wheelbarrow. 

"  Afterwards  we  met  another  party  walking 


116  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Loch  Katrine.  The  Rob  Roy.  The  row  boat. 

in  the  same  way,  with  their  trunks  on  a  wheel 
barrow.  We  thought  that  five  miles  was  a  great 
way  to  wheel  trunks  on  a  whe^'  JMTOW. 

"  At  last  we  came  to  what  they  called  Loch 
Katrine  ;  but  it  seemed  to  me  nothing  but  a  pond 
among  the  mountains.  It  was  only  about  ten 
miles  long.  There  was  an  inn  on  the  shore,  but 
no  village. 

"  There  was  a  pier  there,  too,  and  some  boats 
drawn  up  on  the  beach.  At  a  little  distance  they 
were  putting  together  an  iron  steamboat  on  the 
stocks.  The  parts  were  all  made  in  Glasgow, 
and  brought  here  by  the  same  way  that  we  had 
come.  The  old  steamboat  of  last  year  was  float 
ing  in  the  water  near  by.  The  steam  pipe  was 
rusty,  and  she  looked  as  if  she  had  been  aban 
doned.  The  name  of  her  was  the  Rob  Roy.  . 

"  We  were  glad  that  the  new  one  was  not 
ready,  for  we  liked  better  to  go  in  a  row  boat. 

"  So  we  engaged  one  of  the  boats,  and  went 
down  to  it  on  the  beach,  and  put  our  baggage  in. 
And  this  is  the  end  of  my  part  of  the  account. 
Waldron  is  to  write  the  rest. 

"  ROLLO." 


"  We  all  got  into  the  boat ;  that  is,  we  three, 
and  some  other  ladies  and  gentlemen  that  came 
over  the  mountain  about  the  same  time  with  us. 


THE  TOUR  OP  THE  TEOSSACHS.    117 

Waldron's  rowing.  The  lake. 

The  wind  was  blowing  pretty  fresh,  and  the  mid 
dle  of  the  lake  was  very  rough,  and  some  of  the 
ladies  were  afraid  to  go ;  but  we  told  them  there 
was  no  danger. 

"The  boatman  said  that  we  would  go  right 
across  the  loch,  and  then  we  should  get  under 
the  lee  of  the  land  on  the  eastern  shore,  and 
there  we  should  be  sheltered  from  the  wind,  and 
the  water  would  be  smooth. 

"  I  told  him  that  I  could  row,  and  asked  him 
to  let  me  take  one  of  the  oars  ;  and  he  said  I 
might.  But  one  of  the  ladies  was  afraid  to  have 
me  do  it.  She  said  she  was  afraid  that  I  should 
upset  the  boat. 

"  This  was  nonsense  ;  for  it  is  not  possible  to 
upset  a  boat  by  any  kind  of  rowing,  if  it  is  ever 
so  bad. 

"  The  boatman  told  her  that  there  was  no  dan 
ger,  and  that,  if  I  could  really  row,  I  could  help 
him  so  much  that  we  should  get  across  the  part 
of  the  lake  where  the  wind  blew  and  the  waves 
run  high  so  much  the  sooner.  So  she  consented 
at  last,  and  I  took  one  of  the  oars,  and  we  rowed 
across  the  loch  in  fine  style.  We  pitched  about 
a  good  deal  in  the  middle  passage,  and  the  lady 
was  dreadfully  frightened  ;  but  when  we  got 
across,  the  water  became  smooth,  and  we  sailed 
very  pleasantly  along  the  shore. 


118  KOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Ben  Venue.  Ellen's  Isle.  The  Lady  of  the  Lake. 

"  The  shores  were  winding  and  very  pretty, 
and  the  farther  we  went  the  narrower  the  lake 
became,  and  the  mountains  became  higher  and 
higher.  At  last  we  came  to  a  narrow  place  be 
tween  two  mountains,  where  the  pass  of  the 
Trossachs  began.  The  mountain  on  one  side  was 
Ben  Venue.  The  one  on  the  other  side  was  Benan. 
The  shores  at  the  foot  of  these  mountains  were 
covered  with  woods,  and  the  place  was  very  wild. 
There  was  an  island  in  the  middle  of  the  lake 
here,  called  Ellen's  Isle.  This  island  was  high 
and  rocky,  and  covered  with  woods,  like  the 
shores  adjacent  to  it. 

"  This  island  is  very  famous,  on  account  of  a 
poem  that  Walter  Scott  wrote  about  it,  called 
the  Lady  of  the  Lake.  The  lake  was  this  Loch 
Katrine,  and  the  lady  was  Ellen.  She  went  back 
and  forth  to  the  island  in  a  boat,  in  some  way  or 
other,  but  I  do  not  know  the  story  exactly.  Mr. 
George  is  going  to  buy  the  Lady  of  the  Lake 
when  we  get  to  Edinburgh,  and  read  it  to  us, 
and  then  we  shall  know. 

"  The  island  is  small  and  rocky,  but  it  is  so 
covered  with  trees  and  bushes  that  we  hardly 
see  the  rocks.  They  peep  out  here  and  there. 
The  banks  rise  very  steep,  and  the  water  looks 
very  deep  close  to  the  shore.  We  sailed  by  the 
island,  and  then  the  water  grew  narrower  and 


THE  TOUR  OF  THE  TROSSACHS;    119 

The  landing.  A  church  or  a  castle  ?  Aii  extraordinary  inn. 

narrower,  until  at  last  we  were  closely  shut  in, 
and  then  soon  we  came  to  the  landing. 

"  There  was  nothing  but  a  hut  at  the  landing, 
and  a  narrow  road,  which  began  then  and  led 
down  the  valley.  The  valley  was  very  narrow, 
and  there  were  steep  rocks  and  mountains  on 
both  sides.  They  told  us  that  it  was  a  mile  and 
a  quarter  to  the  inn,  and  that  there  was  no  other 
way  to  go  but  to  walk.  The  boatman  said  that 
he  would  bring  the  baggage ;  so  we  left  it  under 
his  care,  all  except  our  knapsacks,  and  walked 
along. 

"  We  walked  about  a  mile  down  the  valley,  by 
a  very  winding  road,  with  rocks,  and  trees,  and 
very  high  mountains  on  both  sides.  At  last  we 
came  in  sight  of  a  tall  spire.  I  thought  it  was 
a  church.  In  a  minute  another  spire  came  into 
view,  and  two  great  towers.  Rollo  thought  it 
was  a  castle.  I  said  that  a  castle  would  not 
have  a  spire  on  it.  Rollo  said  that  a  church 
would  not  have  two  spires  on  it.  It  turned  out 
that  both  of  us  were  mistaken  ;  for  the  building 
was  the  inn. 

"  It  was  a  very  extraordinary  looking  inn.  It 
was  built  of  stone,  with  towers  and  battlements, 
like  an  old  castle.  The  inside  was  very  extraor 
dinary,  too.  The  public  room  looked,  as  Mr. 
George  said,  like  an  old  Gothic  hall  of  the  mid- 


120          ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  yard  of  the  inn.  The  mountains. 

die  ages.  There  were  tables  set  out  here  for 
people  to  have  breakfasts  and  dinners,  and  Mr. 
George  ordered  a  dinner  for  us.  There  were 
other  parties  of-  tourists  there,  some  coming,  and 
some  going. 

"  While  the  dinner  was  getting  ready,  Rollo 
and  I  walked  about  the  inn,  and  in  the  yards.  It 
was  a  very  curious  place  indeed.  Close  behind 
it  were  lofty  mountains,  which,  Rollo  said,  looked 
like  the  mountains  of  Switzerland ;  only  there 
were  no  snow  peaks  on  the  top  of  them.  There 
was  no  village,  and  there  were  no  houses  near, 
except  two  or  three  stone  hovels  in  the  woods 
behind  the  inn.  Before  the  inn,  in  a  little  valley 
just  below  it,  was  a  pond,  such  as  they  call  here 
a  loch. 

"  Mr.  George  decided  to  go  directly  on  to 
Stirling,  because  it  was  Saturday  night,  and  he 
did  not  wish,  he  said,  to  spend  Sunday  at  such  a 
lonesome  inn.  So  we  hired  a  carriage  and  set  off. 
Immediately  we  began  to  come  out  from  the 
mountains,  and  to  get  into  the  level  country. 
The  country  soon  grew  very  beautiful.  The  sun 
was  behind  our  backs,  and  it  shone  right  upon 
every  thing  that  we  wished  to  see,  and  made  the 
whole  country  look  very  green  and  very  bril 
liant.  There  were  parks,  and  gardens,  and 
oleasure  grounds,  and  queer  villages,  and  ruins 


THE  TOUR  OP  THE  TROSSACHS.    121 

Going  to  Stirling.  The  arrival  at  the  hotel. 

of  old  castles  on  the  hills,  and  little  lochs  in  the 
valleys,  and  every  thing  beautiful. 

"  At  last  we  came  in  sight  of  Stirling  Castle. 
It  stood  on  the  top  of  a  high,  rocky  hill.  The 
hill  was  very  high  and  steep  on  all  sides  but  one, 
where  it  sloped  down  towards  the  town.  The 
country  all  around  was  very  level,  so  that  we 
could  see  the  castle  a  great  many  miles  away. 

"  We  rode  around  the  foot  of  the  castle  hill, 
under  the  rocks,  and  at  last  came  into  the  town, 
and  drove  to  the  hotel. 

"  WALDIION." 


122  ROLLO   IN   SCOTLAND. 

Stirling  Castl*.  The  esplanade. 


C  H AFTER  X. 
STIRLING. 

STIRLING  Castle  crowns  the  summit  of  a  rocky 
hill,  which  rises  on  the  banks  of  the  Forth,  in 
the  midst  of  a  vast  extent  of  level  and  richly- 
cultivated  country.  It  is,  of  course,  a  very  con 
spicuous  object  from  all  the  region  around. 

The  hill  is  long  and  narrow.  The  length  of 
it  extends  from  north  to  south.  The  northern 
end  is  the  high  end.  The  land  slopes  gently 
towards  the  south,  but  the  other  sides  are  steep, 
and  in  many  places  they  form  perpendicular 
precipices  of  rock,  with  the  castle  walls  built  on 
the  very  brink  of  them. 

The  town  lies  chiefly  at  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
towards  the  south,  though  there  are  one  or  two 
streets,  bordered  by  quaint  and  queer  old  build 
ings,  that  lead  all  the  way  up  to  the  castle.  • 

In  front  of  the  castle,  at  the  place  where  these 
streets  terminate,  is  a  broad  space,  smoothly 
gravelled,  called  the  esplanade.  This  is  used  as 
a  parade  ground,  for  drilling  and  training  the 


STIRLING.  123 


The  church.  The  contribution.  The  magistrates'  seat. 

new  soldiers,  and  teaching  them  the  manoeuvres 
and  exercises  necessary  to  be  practised  in  the 
war. 

On  Sunday  morning,  after  breakfast,  Mr.  George 
and  the  boys  went  out,  to  go  to  church.  Bells 
were  ringing  in  various  parts  of  the  town.  They 
were  drawn,  by  some  invisible  attraction,  up  the 
hill,  in  the  direction  of  the  castle.  They  soon 
found  other  people  going  the  same  way  ;  and  fol 
lowing  them,  they  came,  at  length,  to  a  very 
ancient-looking  mass  of  buildings,  which,  Mr. 
George  said,  he  should  have  thought  was  an  old 
abbey,  gone  to  ruin,  if  it  were  not  that  the  peo 
ple  were  all  going  into  it,  under  a  great  arched 
doorway.  So  he  supposed  it  was  a  church,  and 
he  and  the  boys  went  in  with  the  rest. 

There  was  a  man  at  the  door  holding  a  large 
silver  plate,  to  receive  the  contributions  of  the 
people  that  came  in.  Mr.  George  stopped  to  get 
some  money  out  of  his  pocket.  The  man  then 
seemed  to  perceive  that  he  was  a  stranger ;  so 
he  said  to  him,  speaking  with  a  broad  Scotch 
accent  and  intonation,  — 

"  Ye  wull  gae  into  the  magistrates'  seat.  Or 
stay  —  I  wull  send  a  mon  wi'  ye,  to  show  ye 
the  wa'." 

So  he  called  a  door  keeper,  and  the  door  keeper 
led  the  way  up  stairs,  into  a  gallery.  The  gal- 


124  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  three  pulpits.  The  precentor. 

lery  was  very  wide,  and  was  supported  by  enor 
mous  pillars.  The  whole  interior  of  the  church 
had  a  very  quaint  and  antique  air.  The  magis 
trate's  seat  was  the  front  seat  of  the  gallery.  It 
was  a  very  nice  seat,  and  was  well  cushioned. 
Before  it,  all  around,  was  a  sort  of  desk,  for  the 
Bibles  and  Hymn  Books  to  rest  upon. 

There  were  three  pulpits  —  or  what  seemed  to 
the  boys  to  be  pulpits  —  one  behind  and  above 
the  other.  The  highest  was  for  the  minister ; 
the  next  below  was  for  what  in  America  would 
be  called  the  leader  of  the  choir  ;  though  in  Scot 
land,  Mr.  George  said  he  believed  he  was  called 
the  precentor.  There  was  no  choir  of  singers, 
as  with  us,  but  when  the  minister  gave  out  a 
hymn  the  precentor  rose  and  commenced  the 
singing,  and  when  he  had  got  near  the  end  of 
the  jirst  line  all  the  congregation  joined  in,  and 
sang  the  hymn  with  him  to  the  end.  The  third 
pulpit  was  only  a  sort  of  chair,  enclosed  at  the 
sides  and  above.  What  the  man  did  who  sat  in 
it  the  boys  could  not  find  out. 

All  the  people  in  the  church  had  Bibles  on  a 
sloping  board  before  them,  in  their  pews,  and 
when  the  minister  named  the  text  or  read  a 
chapter,  they  all  turned  to  the  place,  and  looked 
over.  Waldron  said  he  thought  that  this  waa 
an  excellent  plan. 


STIRLING.  125 


The  walks  on  the  hill.  A  plan  for  the  morrow. 

Mr.  George  and  the  boys  all  liked  the  sermon 
very  much  indeed,  and  when  the  service  was 
ended,  they  walked  a  little  way  around  the  es 
planade  before  the  castle,  and  then  went  home 
to  dinner. 

In  the  course  of  their  excursion,  however,  they 
had  observed  that  a  great  many  walks  had  been 
made  at  different  elevations  on  the  west  side  of 
the  hill,  and  that  seats  were  placed  there  at  dif 
ferent  points,  for  resting-places.  These  seats, 
and  indeed  the  walks  themselves,  commanded 
charming  views  of  all  the  surrounding  country. 
The  boys  wanted  to  run  up  and  down  these 
paths,  and  explore  the  sides  of  the  hill  by  means 
of  them  in  every  part ;  but  Mr.  George  recom 
mended  to  them  to  wait  till  the  next  day. 

"  We  shall  come  up  to-morrow,"  said  he,  "  to 
visit  the  castle,  and  then  we  will  come  out  here, 
and  have  a  picnic,  on  one  of  these  stone  seats. 
After  that  I  will  find  a  place  among  the  rocks  to 
read  or  write,  for  an  hour,  and  while  I  am  there 
you  may  climb  about  among  the  rocks  and  preci 
pices  as  much  as  you  please." 

The  next  morning  the  boys  set  out  with  Mr. 
George,  soon  after  breakfast,  to  go  up  to  the 
castle.  When  they  reached  the  esplanade  they 
found  several  small  parties  of  soldiers  there, 
nnder  instruction.  They  all  wore  red  coats  — 


126  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  military  drill.  Up  to  the  castle. 

that  being  the  ordinary  uniform  of  British  sol 
diers.  Officers  were  marching  them  about,  and 
teaching  them  how  to  handle  their  muskets,  and 
to  keep  step,  and  to  wheel  this  way  and  that,  and 
to  perform  other  such  evolutions.  A  great  many 
of  the  soldiers  looked  very  young.  They  were 
lads  that  had  been  recently  enlisted,  and  were 
now  being  trained  to  go  to  the  war  in  the  Crimea. 

After  looking  at  these  soldiers  a  short  time 
the  party  went  on.  At  the  upper  end  of  the 
esplanade  there  was  a  gateway  leading  into  the 
castle  yard.  There  was  a  sentinel,  in  a  Highland 
costume,  keeping  guard  there.  Mr.  George  asked 
him  if  the  public  were  allowed  to  go  into  the 
castle.  He  said,  "  0,  yes,  certainly  ;"  and  so  Mr. 
George  and  the  boys  went  in. 

As  they  went  in  they  looked  up,  and  saw  a 
great  many  cannons  pointed  down  at  them  from 
the  embrasures  in  the  surrounding  ramparts  and 
bastions. 

"  Those  guns  must  be  to  keep  the  enemy  from 
coming  in,"  said  Waldron. 

Presently  the  party  passed  through  another 
arched  gateway,  and  came  into  a  large  inner 
court,  which  was  surrounded  with  various  build 
ings,  all  built  of  stone,  and  of  a  very  massive 
and  solid  character.  The  palace  was  on  one 
side.  It  was  adorned  with  a  great  many  quaint 


STIRLING.  127 


The  court.        A  volunteer  guide.        View  of  the  surrounding  country. 

and  curious  sculptures  and  images.  The  palace 
itself,  and  all  the  other  buildings,  were  used  as 
barracks  for  soldiers.  A  great  many  soldiers 
were  standing  about  the  doors,  and  some  were 
playing  together  about  the  court.  Some  of  them 
were  dressed  in  the  common  British  uniform,  and 
some  were  in  the  Highland  costume. 

While  the  boys  were  looking  at  the  palace 
front,  a  soldier  advanced  towards  them  in  a  very 
respectful  manner,  and  said  to  Mr.  George,  — 

"  If  you  and  the  young  gentlemen  are  strangers 
in  Stirling,  I  will  walk  about  the  castle  with 
you,  and  point  out  the  objects  of  interest  to  you, 
if  you  desire  it.'7 

Mr.  George  accepted  this  offer,  and  the  young 
soldier  accordingly  walked  with  them  all  about. 
He  pointed  out  all  the  different  buildings,  and 
mentioned  the  dates  of  the  erection  of  them,  and 
referred  to  the  most  important  historical  events 
that  had  transpired  in  them.  Finally  he  led  the 
party  through  a  gate  into  a  small  garden,  and 
thence  out  upon  the  rampart  wall,  from  which 
there  was  a  very  extended  and  extraordinarily 
beautiful  view  of  the  surrounding  country.*  To 
the  north-west  were  seen  the  Highlands,  with  the 
peaks  of  Ben  Lomond,  Ben  Venue,  and  Benan, 

«  For  engraving  of  Stirling  Castle  see  page  10. 


128  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  windings  of  the  River  Forth. 

rising  conspicuously  among  them.  On  the  east 
were  other  hills,  rising  abruptly  out  of  the  smooth 
and  smiling  plain,  and  covered  with  dark  planta 
tions  of  evergreen.  All  around  the  foot  of  the 
castle,  and  extending  to  the  distance,  in  some 
directions,  of  many  miles,  the  country  was  level 
and  fertile,  and  it  presented  every  where  the 
most  enchanting  pictures  of  rural  beauty.  Some 
of  the  fields  were  of  the  richest  green,  others 
were  brown  from  fresh  tillage,  with  men  plough 
ing  Or  harrowing  in  them,  or  plants  just  spring 
ing  up  in  long  green  rows,  which,  partly  on 
account  of  the  distance,  and  partly  through  the 
exquisite  neatness  and  nicety  of  farmers'  work, 
looked  so  smooth,  and  soft,  and  fine,  that  the  scene 
appeared  more  like  enchantment  than  reality. 

On  one  side  of  the  mountain  was  seen  the 
River  Forth,  winding  about  through  meadows  and 
green  fields  with  the  most  extraordinary  turnings 
and  involutions.  The  boys  had  seen  winding 
rivers  before,  but  never  any  thing  like  this.  The 
whole  plain  was  filled  with  the  windings  of  the 
river,  which  looked  like  the  links  of  a  silver 
chain,  lying  half  embedded  in  a  carpet  of  the 
richest  green.  Indeed,  these  windings  of  the 
river,  and  the  vast  circular  fields  of  fertile  land 
which  they  enclose,  are  called  the  Links  of  Forth. 
The  view  was  diversified  by  villages,  hamlets, 


STIRLING.  129 


A  Scotch  proverb.  Queen  Victoria  at  Stirling. 

bridges,  railway  embankments,  and  other  con 
structions,  which  concealed  the  river  here  and 
there  entirely  from  view,,  and  made  it  impossible 
to  trace  its  course.  The  richness  and  beauty  of 
these  Links  of  Forth  appeared  the  more  surprising 
to  the  boys  from  the  contrast  which  the  scene 
presented  to  the  dreary  wastes  of  moss  and 
heather  which  they  had  seen  in  the  Highlands. 
There  is  an  old  Scotch  proverb  that  refers  to  this 
contrast.  It  is  this  :  — 

"  The  lairdship  of  the  honnie  Links  of  Forth 
Is  better  than  an  earldom  in  the  north." 

The  course  of  the  Forth  could  be  traced  for  a 
long  distance  towards  Edinburgh  ;  and  Arthur 's 
Seat,  a  high  hill  near  Edinburgh,  could  be  dis 
tinctly  seen  in  the  south-eastern  horizon. 

At  one  place,  in  an  angle  in  the  wall  of  the 
rampart,  was  a  stone  step,  so  placed  that  a  lady, 
by  standing  upon  it,  might  get  a  better  view. 
The  soldier  said  that  Queen  Victoria  stood  upon 
that  stone,  when  she  visited  Stirling  Castle,  a 
few  years  ago,  on  her  way  to  Balmoral.  Balmo 
ral  is  a  country  seat  she  has  among  the  High 
lands,  far  to  the  north,  in  the  midst  of  the  wildest 
solitudes.  The  queen  goes  there  almost  every 
summer,  in  order  to  escape,  for  a  time,  from  the 
thraldom  of  state  ceremony,  and  the  pomp  and 
9 


130  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

An  inscription.  The  ancient  tilting  ground. 

parade  of  royal  life,  and  live  in  peace  among  the 
mountain  solitudes. 

The  soldier  pointed  to  the  coping  of  the  wall, 
where  the  figure  of  a  crown  was  cut  in  the  stone, 
and  the  letters  "  V.  R."  by  the  side  of  it.  This 
inscription  was  a  memorial  of  the  queen's  having 
stood  at  this  spot  to  view  and  admire  the  beauty 
of  the  scenery. 

After  Mr.  George  and  the  boys  had  seen  all 
that  they  wished  of  the  castle,  Mr.  George  gave 
the  soldier  a  shilling,  and  they  went  out  as  they 
had  gone  in,  under  the  great  archway.  They 
passed  across  the  esplanade,  and  then  came  to  a 
small,  level  piece  of  ground,  with  a  high  rock  be 
yond  it,  overlooking  it.  The  level  place  was  an 
ancient  tilting  ground ;  that  is,  a  ground  where, 
in  ancient  times,  they  used  to  have  tilts  and  tour 
naments,  for  the  amusement  of  the  people  of  the 
palace,  and  of  the  guests  who  came  to  visit  them. 
The  ladies  used  to  stand  on  the  top  of  the  rock  to 
witness  the  tournaments.  There  was  a  large,  flat 
area  there,  with  room  enough  upon  it  for  twenty 
or  thirty  ladies  to  stand  and  see.  The  rock  was 
called  the  Lady's  Rock.  The  tournaments  and 
tiltings  have  long  since  ceased,  but  it  retains  the 
name  of  the  Lady's  Rock  to  the  present  day. 

"  Let  us  go  up  on  it,"  said  Rollo,  "  and  see 
where  the  ladies  stood." 


STIRLING.  131 


The  Lady's  Rock.  Hollo's  definition  of  a  tournament. 

There  were  a  number  of  children  playing  about 
these  grounds,  and  several  of  them  were  upon 
the  top  of  the  Lady's  Rock.  They  looked  ragged 
and  poor.  Rollo  and  Waldron  climbed  up  to 
the  place.  The  path  was  steep  and  rugged. 
When  they  reached  the  top  they  looked  down  to 
the  level  area  where  the  tournaments  were  held. 

"  I  don't  think  the  place  is  big  enough  for  a 
tournament,"  said  Rollo. 

"  What  is  a  tournament  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  A  sort  of  sham  fight  of  horsemen,"  said 
Rollo,  "  that  they  used  to  have  in  old  times, 
when  they  wore  steel  armor,  and  fought  with 
spears  and  lances.  They  used  to  ride  against 
each  other  with  blunt  spears,  and  see  who  could 
knock  the  other  one  off  his  horse.  What  are  you 
laughing  at,  uncle  George  ?  " 

Rollo  perceived  that  Mr.  George  was  smiling 
at  his  very  unromantic  mode  of  describing  a 
tournament.  "  Is  not  that  what  they  used  to  do 
at  the  tournaments  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  that  is  a  pretty  fair 
account  of  it,  on  the  whole.  And  now,  boys,"  he 
continued,  "  I  have  got  a  plan  of  having  a  picnic 
to-day,  out  under  the  castle  walls  here,  instead 
of  going  to  the  hotel  for  dinner  ;  and  we  will  go 
and  find  a  good  place  for  it." 

The  boys  said  that  they  would  like  this  plan 


!32  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  picnic.  Buying  a  dinner. 

very  much.  "  But  then,"  said  they,  "  we  have  not 
got  any  thing  to  eat." 

Mr.  George  then  explained  to  them  that  the 
plan  which  he  had  formed,  was  for  them  to  go 
down  into  the  town,  and  buy  something  at  the 
shops  for  a  picnic  dinner,  while  he  remained  on 
the  rocks,  or  on  some  seat  on  the  side  of  the  Cas 
tle  Hill,  writing  in  his  journal. 

"  Well,"  said  Waldron,  "  we  will  do  that.  But 
what  shall  we  buy  ?  " 

"  Whatever  you  please,"  said  Mr.  George. 
"  Walk  along  through  the  street,  and  look  in  at 
the  shop  windows,  and  whenever  you  see  any 
thing  that  you  think  we  shall  like,  buy  it." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  we  will.  But  how  much 
shall  we  spend  ?  " 

"As  much  as  you  think  it  best,"  said  Mr. 
George.  "  I  leave  every  thing  to  you.  You  see, 
our  dinner  at  the  hotel  would  not  be  less  than 
seven  shillings,  and  that  we  shall  save ;  so  that 
if  you  don't  spend  more  than  seven  shillings  you 
will  be  safe." 

The  boys  were  sure  that  they  could  procure 
very  abundant  supplies  for  less  money  than  that ; 
and  they  very  readily  undertook  the  commission. 
They  accordingly  left  Mr.  George  at  a  seat  near 
one  of  the  walks  on  the  side  of  Castle  Hill,  where, 
as  he  said,  he  could  look  right  down  on  the  famous 


STIRLING.  133 


A  foraging  expedition.  The  boys'  success. 

field  of  Bannockburn,  and  they  then  began  to  run 
down  the  walk,  on  the  way  towards  the  hotel. 

They  first  went  to  the  hotel  to  get  a  knapsack. 
They  told  the  waiter  there  that  they  should  not 
be  at  home  to  dinner.  They  then  walked  along 
the  street,  looking  out  for  eatables.  They  soon 
found  various  shop  windows  where  such  things 
were  displayed,  and  in  the  course  of  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  they  had  laid  in  an  abundant  supply. 
They  bought  some  small,  flat  cakes  of  bread  at 
one  place,  and  a  veal  and  ham  pie  at  another, 
and  two  oranges  apiece  at  another,  and  a  bottle 
of  milk  at  another,  and  finally,  for  dessert,  they 
got  a  pound  of  raisins  and  almonds  mixed  to 
gether,  which  they  chanced  to  see  in  a  fruiterer's 
window.  The  cost  of  the  whole,  the  boys  found, 
when  they  came  to  foot  up  the  account,  was  only 
two  shillings  and  fourpence. 

With  these  supplies  the  boys  went  up  the  hill 
again  ;  not  through  the  street,  but  by  the  walk 
under  the  trees,  outside  the  town  wall.  They 
found  Mr.  George  in  the  seat  where  they  had 
left  him.  He  had  just  finished  his  writing.  He 
was  very  much  pleased  with  the  purchases  that 
the  boys  had  made, , and  they  all  sat  down  to 
gether  on  the  stone  seat,  and  ate  their  dinner 
with  excellent  appetites.* 

*  See  Frontispiece. 


134 


HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 


The  picnic  dinner. 


The  field  of  Bannockburn. 


While  they  were  eating  the  raisins  and  al 
monds  Mr.  George  pointed  down  to  a  beautiful 
field,  yellow  with  buttercups,  and  said, — 

"  There,  boys,  do  you  see  that  field  ?  " 

The  boys  said  they  did. 

"  It  is  the  field  of  Bannockburn.  Look  at  it, 
and  remember  it  well.  When  you  are  five  years 
older,  and  read  the  history  of  Scotland,  you  will 
take  great  pleasure  in  thinking  of  the  day  when 
you  looked  down  from  Stirling  Castle  on  the 
field  of  Bannockburn.' 


LOCH  LEVEN.  135 

Loch  Leven.  Kinross. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
LOCH  LEVEN. 

"  AND  where  are  we  going  next,  uncle  George?" 
said  Rollo,  as  they  were  all  coming  home  to  the 
hotel,  from  their  last  walk  up  to  the  castle. 

"  I  am  going  to  Kinross,"  said  Mr.  George. 

"  What  is  there  at  Kinross  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  There  is  a  lake,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  and  in 
the  lake  is  an  island,  and  on  the  island  are  the 
ruins  of  an  old  castle,  and  in  the  castle  Mary, 
Queen  of  Scots,  was  imprisoned." 

"  Yes,"  said  Waldron,  "  I  have  heard  of  Mary,. 
Queen  of  Scots,  but  I  do  not  know  much  about 
her." 

Waldron,  it  must  be  confessed,  was  not  much 
of  a  scholar.  He  had  read  very  little,  either  of 
history  or  of  any  thing  else. 

"  What  was  she  remarkable  for  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  In  the  first  place,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  she 
was  very  beautiful,  and  she  was  also  very  lovely." 

"  That  is  the  same  thing ;  is  it  not  ?  "  said  Rollo. 

"  No,  not  by  any  means,"  said  Mr.  George. 


136  KOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 


The  difference  between  loveliness  and  beauty. 


"  There  are  many  beautiful  girls  that  are  not 
lovely,  and  there  are  many  lovely  girls  that  are 
not  particularly  beautiful.'' 

"  You  mean  lovely  in  character,  I  suppose," 
said  Rollo. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  I  mean  lovely  in 
looks.  There  is  a  great  difference,  I  think,  be 
tween  loveliness  and  beauty,  in  looks." 

"  I  think  so,  too,"  said  Waldron. 

"  Now,  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,"  continued  Mr. 
George,  "  was  beautiful,  and  she  was  also  very 
lovely  ;  and  while  she  lived  she  charmed  and 
fascinated  almost  every  body  who  knew  her. 

"  Then,  besides,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "  her 
life  was  an  exceedingly  romantic  one.  She  met 
with  an  extraordinary  number  of  most  remark 
able  adventures.  She  was  sent  to  France,  when 
she  was  a  little  child,  to  be  educated.  There 
were  four  little  girls  of  her  own  age  sent  with 
her,  to  be  her  playmates  there,  and  they  were 
all  named  Mary.  She  called  them  her  four 
Marys. 

"  She  grew  up  to  be  a  young  lady  in  France, 
and  married  the  king's  son,  and  she  lived  there 
for  a  time  in  great  prosperity  and  splendor.  At 
last  her  husband  died,  and  her  enemies  came  into 
power  in  France,  and  she  became  unhappy.  Be 
sides,  there  were  some  difficulties  and  troubles  in 


LOCH  LEVEN.  137 

Account  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots.  Accusations  against  her. 

Scotland,  and  she  was  obliged  to  return  to  her 
native  land.  She  was,  however,  very  unhappy 
about  it.  She  loved  France  very  much,  and  the 
friends  that  she  had  made  there,  and  when  she 
came  away  she  said  that  she  had  left  half  her 
heart  behind. 

"  When  we  go  to  Edinburgh,"  continued  Mr. 
George,  "  we  shall  go  to  Holyrood,  and  see  the 
palace  where  she  lived.  While  she  was  there  a 
great  many  extraordinary  and  curious  events  and 
incidents  befell  her." 

"  Tell  us  about  them,"  said  Waldron. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  It  would  take  me 
too  long.  You  must  read  her  history  yourself.  It 
is  an  exceedingly  interesting  story.  She  was  ac 
cused  of  some  great  crimes,  but  mankind  have 
never  been  able  to  decide  whether  she  was  guilty 
of  them  or  not.  Some  are  very  sure  that  she  was 
innocent,  and  some  are  equally  positive  that  she 
was  guilty." 

"  What  crimes  were  they  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  Why,  one  was,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  that  of 
murdering  her  husband.  It  was  her  second  hus 
band,  one  that  she  married  after  she  came  to 
Scotland.  They  did  not  live  happily  together. 
He  killed  one  of  Mary's  friends,  named  Rizzio, 
and  afterwards  he  was  killed  himself.  The  house 
that  he  was  in  was  blown  up  in  the  night  with 
gunpowder." 


138  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Queen  Mary  suspected.  Histories  of  her  life. 

"  My!"  exclaimed  Waldron ;  "  I  should  like  to 
read  about  it." 

"  It  is  a  very  interesting  and  curious  story," 
said  Mr.  George. 

"  And  could  not  they  find  out  who  did  it  ?  " 
asked  Waldron. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  they  found  out  who 
did  it ;  but  what  they  could  not  find  out  was, 
whether  Mary  herself  took  any  part  in  the  crime 
or  not.  There  was  no  direct  proof.  They  could 
only  judge  from  the  circumstances." 

"  What  were  the  circumstances  ?  "  asked  Wal 
dron. 

"  0,  I  could  not  tell  you  very  well,"  said  Mr. 
George.  "  It  would  take  me  half  a  day  to  tell 
the  whole  story.  You  must  get  some  life  of 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  and  read  it  for  yourself. 
You  will  have  to  begin  at  the  beginning,  and 
read  it  all  carefully  through,  and  remember  all 
the  persons  that  are  mentioned,  and  consider 
their  characters  and  motives,  and  then  you  will 
be  able  to  judge  for  yourself  about  it.  There 
have  been  a  great  many  histories  of  her  life 
written." 

"  And  what  about  her  being  imprisoned  in  the 
castle  that  we  are  going  to  see  ?  "  asked  Wal 
dron. 

"  0,  you  must  read  and  find  out  for  yourself 


LOCH  LEVEN.  139 


Waldron  advised  to  read  the  Life  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots. 

about  that,  too,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  The  coun 
try  got  into  great  difficulty,  and  two  parties  were 
formed,  one  of  which  was  in  favor  of  Mary,  and 
one  was  against  her.  Her  enemies  proved  to  be 
the  strongest,  and  so  they  shut  her  up  in  this  cas 
tle.  But  she  got  away." 

"  How  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  You  will  learn  all  about  it,"  replied  Mr. 
George,  "  when  you  come  to  read  the  history  of 
her  life.  When  we  go  to  the  castle  you  will  see 
the  window  where  she  climbed  down  into  the 
boat." 

"  Did  she  escape  in  a  boat  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  I  am  positively  not  going  to  tell  you  any 
more  about  it,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  You  must 
find  out  for  yourself.  Your  father  has  paid  ever 
so  much  money  to  send  you  to  school,  to  have 
you  educated,  so  that  you  could  read  history  for 
yourself,  and  not  be  dependent  upon  any  body ; 
and  now  for  me  to  tell  it  to  you  would  be  ridicu 
lous.  You  must  go  to  a  bookstore,  and  buy  a 
history  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  and  begin  at 
the  beginning,  and  read  the  whole  story." 

Mr.  George  said  this  in  a  somewhat  jocose  sort 
of  manner,  and  Waldron  understood  that  his 
refusing  to  give  him  more  full  information  about 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  arose,  not  from  any  un 
willingness  to  oblige  him,  but  only  to  induce 


140  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

He  resolves  to  get  the  book.          Dunfermline.  The  ruined  abbey. 

him  to  read  the  story  himself,  in  full,  which  he 
knew  very  well  would  be  far  better  for  him  than 
to  receive  a  meagre  statement  of  the  principal 
points  of  the  narrative  from  another  person. 

"  I  mean  to  get  the  book/7  said  Waldron,  "  as 
soon  as  we  arrive  at  Edinburgh.  But  there  is 
one  thing  I  can  do,"  he  added  ;  "  I  can  ask  the 
guide.  The  guide  that  shows  us  the  castle  will 
tell  me  how  she  got  away." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  you  can  ask  the 
guide  ;  but  I  don't  believe  you  will  get  much  sat 
isfaction  in  that  way." 

The  next  morning  after  this  conversation  took 
place,  Mr.  George  and  the  boys  bade  Stirling 
farewell,  and  set  off  in  the  cars,  on  the  way  to 
Loch  Leven.  After  riding  about  an  hour  they 
left  the  train  at  the  station  called  Dunfermline, 
where  there  was  a  ruin  of  an  abbey,  and  of  an 
ancient  royal  palace  of  Scotland.  They  left  their 
baggage  at  the  station,  and  walked  through  the 
village  till  they  came  to  the  ruin.  It  was  a  very 
beautiful  ruin,  and  the  party  spent  more  than  an 
hour  in  rambling  about  it,  and  looking  at  the  old 
monuments,  and  the  carved  and  sculptured  win 
dows,  and  arches,  and  cornices,  all  wasted  and 
blackened  by  time  and  decay.  A  part  of  the 
ruin  was  still  in  good  repair,  and  was  used  as  a 
church,  though  it  was  full  of  old  sepulchral 


LOCH    LEVEN.  141 

Cowdenbeath.  The  Loch  Leven  coach. 

monuments  and  relics.  There  was  a  woman  in 
attendance  at  the  door,  to  show  the  church  to 
those  who  wished  to  see  the  interior  of  it. 

After  looking  at  these  ruins  as  long  as  they 
wished,  Mr.  George  and  the  boys  went  back  to 
the  station,  in  order  to  take  the  next  train  that 
came  by,  and  continue  their  journey.  They  went 
on  about  an  hour  longer,  and  then  they  got  out 
again  at  a  station  called  Cowdenbeath,  which 
was  the  place  on  the  road  that  was  nearest  to 
Loch  Leven,  and  where  they  had  understood  that 
there  was  a  coach,  which  went  to  Loch  Leven 
twice  a  day.  The  place  was  very  quiet  and  still, 
and  was  in  the  midst  of  a  green  and  pretty  coun 
try,  with  small  groups  of  stone  cottages  here  and 
there.  There  were  also  several  pretty  tall  chim 
neys  scattered  about  the  fields,  with  a  sort  of 
platform,  and  some  wheels  and  machinery  near 
each  of  them.  These  were  the  mouths  of  coal 
pits.  The  wheels  and  machinery  were  for  hoist 
ing  up  the  coal. 

In  the  yard  of  the  station  they  found  the  Loch 
Leven  coach.  It  was  in  the  form  of  a  very 
short  omnibus.  The  coachman  said  that  he  had 
just  come  in  from  Loch  Leven,  and  that  he  was 
going  to  set  out  on  his  return  at  eight.  It  was 
now  about  seven,  so  that  Mr.  George  and  the 
boys  had  an  hour  to  walk  about,  and  see  what 
was  to  be  seen. 


142  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Coal  pits.  The  ride. 

•* 

It  was  a  pleasant  summer  evening,  and  they 
enjoyed  the  rambles  that  they  took  very  much 
indeed.  They  walked  through  several  of  the  lit 
tle  hamlets,  and  saw  the  women  sitting  at  the 
doors  of  their  cottages,  with  their  young  children 
in  their  arms,  while  the  older  ones  were  running 
about,  here  and  there,  at  play.  They  went  to 
some  of  the  coal  pits,  and  saw  the  immense  iron 
levers,  driven  by  steam,  that  were  slowly  moving 
to  and  fro,  hard  at  work  pumping  up  water  from 
the  bottom  of  the  mine.  They  took  quite  a  walk, 
too,  along  the  turnpike  road,  and  saw  a  post- 
chaise  drive  swiftly  by,  with  a  footman  behind, 
and  a  postilion  in  livery  on  one  of  the  horses. 

At  last,  when  the  hour  of  eight  began  to  draw 
nigh,  they  all  went  back  to  a  little  inn  near  the 
station,  where  the  coachman  had  said  that  he 
would  call  for  them.  When  the  coach  came  Mr. 
George  got  in,  and  the  two  boys  mounted  on  the 
top,  and  took  their  places  on  a  high  seat  behind 
that  of  the  driver.  They  had  a  very  pleasant 
ride.  The  country  was  beautiful,  and  the  horses 
trotted  so  fast  over  the  smooth,  hard  road,  that  a 
continued  succession  of  most  enchanting  pictures 
of  rural  scenery  was  presented  to  the  eyes  of  the 
boys,  as  they  rode  along.  The  distance  was  not 
far  from  ten  miles,  but  both  the  boys  wished  that 
it  had  been  twenty. 


LOCH  LEVEN.  143 


Kinross.  Loch  Leven  Castle.  An  island  enlarged. 

At  length  they  came  in  sight  of  a  large  village 
bordered  by  groves  of  trees,  lying  in  the  midst 
of  a  gentle  depression  of  the  ground,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  more  they  began  to  get  glimpses  of 
the  water.  The  village  was  Kinross,  and  the 
water  was  Loch  Leven.  Presently,  in  going  over 
a  gentle  elevation  of  land,  a  large  portion  of  the 
surface  of  the  water  came  into  view.  Far  out 
towards  the  centre  of  it  was  a  small,  low  island, 
covered  with  trees.  In  the  midst  of  the  trees  the 
boys  could  see  the  top  of  the  ruin  of  a  large, 
square  tower.  They  asked  the  coachman  if  that 
was  Loch  Leven  Castle,  and  he  said  it  was. 

"  Uncle  George,"  said  Rollo,  leaning  over  and 
calling  out  to  his  uncle  inside,  "  there's  the 
castle." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  I  see  it." 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  Eollo  to  Waldron, 
"that  that  is  a  very  small  island  to  build  a  castle 
upon." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  coachman ;  "  but  it  was  a 
great  deal  smaller  in  the  days  when  the  castle 
was  inhabited.  It  was  only  just  large  enough 
then  for  the  castle  itself,  and  for  the  castle  gar 
den.  It  is  a  great  deal  larger  now.  The  way  it 
came  to  be  larger  was  this.  Some  years  ago  the 
proprietor  cut  down  the  outlet  of  the  loch  four 
feet  deeper  than  it  was  before ;  and  that  drew 


144  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  arriyal  at  the  inn.  A  walk  in  Kinross. 

off  four  feet  of  water  from  the  whole  loch,  and 
of  course  all  the  places  where  the  water  was 
less  than  four  feet  deep  were  laid  bare.  This 
enlarged  the  castle  island  a  great  deal,  for  before 
the  water  was  very  shallow  all  around  it.  When 
the  land  became  dry  they  planted  trees  there, 
and  now  the  ruins  are  in  the  midst  of  quite  a 
grove." 

By  this  time  the  coach  began  to  enter  the  vil 
lage,  and  very  soon  it  stopped  at  the  door  of  a 
very  neat  and  tidy-looking  inn.  Mr.  George  en 
gaged  lodgings  for  the  night,  and  called  for  sup 
per.  The  supper  was  served  in  a  pleasant  little 
coffee  room,  which  was  fitted  up  in  a  very  snug 
and  comfortable  manner,  like  a  back  parlor  in  a 
gentleman's  house. 

After  supper  Mr.  George  proposed  to  the  boys 
that  they  should  take  a  walk  about  the  village, 
as  it  was  only  nine  o'clock,  and  it  would  not  be 
dark  for  another  hour.  So  they  went  out  and 
walked  through  the  street,  back  and  forth.  The 
houses  were  built  of  a  sort  of  gray  stone,  and 
they  stood  all  close  together  in  rows,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  street,  with  nothing  green  around 
them  or  near  them.  The  street  thus  presented  a 
very  gray,  sombre,  and  monotonous  appearance  ; 
very  different  from  the  animated  and  cheerful 
aspect  of  American  villages,  with  their  white 


LOCH  LEVEN.  145 

Visit  to  the  castle.  The  «  fishing  of  the  loch." 

houses  and  green  blinds,  and  pretty  yards  and 
gardens,  enclosed  with  ornamental  palings.  The 
boys  wished  to  go  down  to  the  shore  of  the  loch  ; 
but  as  they  did  not  see  the  water  any  where,  Mr. 
George  said  he  thought  it  would  be  too  far.  So 
they  went  back  to  the  inn. 

The  next  morning,  after  breakfast,  they  set  out 
to  go  and  visit  the  castle.  A  boy  went  with 
them  from  the  inn  to  show  them  the  way.  He 
led  them  down  the  street  of  the  village,  to  a 
house  where  he  said  the  man  lived  who  "  had  the 
fishing  "  of  the  loch.  It  seems  that  the  loch,  in 
cluding  the  right  to  fish  in  it,  is  private  property, 
and  that  the  owner  of  it  lets  the  fishing  to  a  man 
in  the  village,  and  that  he  keeps  a  boat  to  take 
visitors  out  to  see  the  castle.  So  they  went  to 
the  house  where  this  man  lived.  They  explained 
what  they  wanted  at  the  door,  and  pretty  soon  a 
boatman  came  out,  and  went  with  them  to  the 
shore  of  the  pond.  The  way  was  through  a  wide 
green  field,  that  had  been  formed  out  of  the  bot 
tom  of  the  loch,  by  drawing  off  the  water.  When 
they  came  to  the  shore  they  found  a  small  pier 
there,  with  a  boat  fastened  to  it.  There  was  a 
email  boat  house  near  the  pier.  The  boatman 
brought  some  oars  out  of  the  boat  house,  and  put 
them  in  the  boat,  and  then  they  all  got  in. 

The  morning  was  calm,  and  the  loch  was  very 
10 


146  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

A  sail  on  the  lake.  An  uninhabited  castle. 

smooth,  and  the  boat  glided  along  very  gently 
over  the  water.  There  was  a  great  curve  in  the 
shore  near  the  pier,  so  that  for  some  time  the 
boat,  though  headed  directly  for  the  island,  which 
was  in  the  middle  of  the  loch,  moved  parallel  to 
the  shore,  and  very  near  it.  There  was  a  smooth 
and  beautiful  green  field  all  the  way  along  the 
shore,  which  sloped  down  gently  to  the  margin 
of  the  water.  Beyond  this  field,  which  was  not 
wide,  there  was  a  road,  and  beyond  the  road 
there  was  a  wall.  Over  the  wall  were  to  be  seen 
the  trees  of  a  great  park  ;  and  presently  the  boat 
came  opposite  to  the  gateway,  through  which  the 
boys  could  see,  as  they  sailed  by,  a  large  and 
handsome  stone  house,  or  castle.  The  boatman 
said  it  was  not  inhabited,  because  the  owner  of  it 
was  not  yet  of  age. 

After  passing  the  house  they  came,  before  long, 
to  the  end  of  these  grounds,  which  formed  a 
point  projecting  into  the  lake.  There  was  a 
small  and  very  ancient-looking  burying  ground 
on  the  point.  This  burying  ground  will  be  re 
ferred  to  hereafter  ;  so  do  not  forget  it. 

After  passing  this  point  of  land,  the  boat,  in 
her  course  towards  the  castle,  came  out  into  the 
open  loch  —  the  little  island  on  which  the  ruins 
of  the  castle  stand  being  in  full  view. 


LOCH  LEY  EN.  147 

Loch  Leven.  Passing  Cape  Race. 

There  was,  however,  yet  a  pretty  broad  sheet 
of  open  water  to  pass  before  reaching  the  island. 


LOCH   LEVEN. 


"  Now  we  have  passed  Cape  Race/'  said  Wal« 
dron,  "  and  are  striking  out  into  the  open  sea." 

Cape  Race  is  the  southern  cape  of  Newfound 
land,  and  is  the  last  land  to  be  seen  on  the  Amer 
ican  coast,  in  crossing  the  Atlantic. 

After  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  the  boat  be 
gan  to  approach  the  shores  of  the  little  island. 
And  now  the  great  square  tower,  and  the  ram 
part  wall  connected  with  it,  came  plainly  in 
sight.  There  were  a  few  very  large  and  old 
trees  overhanging  the  ruins,  and  all  the  rest  of 


148  HOLLO   IN   SCOTLAND. 


Appearance  of  the  island.  The  towers.  Other  buildings. 


the  island  was  covered  with  a  dense  grove  of 
young  trees.  The  boat  came  up  to  the  land,  and 
Mr.  George  and  the  boys  stepped  out  of  it  upon 
a  sort  of  jetty,  formed  of  stones  loosely  thrown 
together.  There  was  a  path  leading  through 
the  grass,  and  among  the  trees,  towards  the  ruins 
of  the  castle. 

The  castle  consisted,  when  it  was  entire,  of  a 
square  area  enclosed  in  a  high  wall,  with  various 
buildings  along  the  inner  side  of  it.  The  princi 
pal  of  these  buildings  was  the  square  tower. 
This  was  in  one  corner  of  the  enclosure.  At  the 
opposite  corner  of  the  enclosure  were  the  ruins 
of  a  smaller  tower,  hexagonal  in  its  form.  The 
square  tower  contained  the  principal  apartments 
occupied  by  the  family  that  resided  in  the  castle. 
The  hexagonal  one  contained  the  rooms  where 
Queen  Mary  was  imprisoned. 

Then,  besides  these  structures,  there  were  sev 
eral  other  buildings  within  the  area,  though  they 
are  now  gone  almost  entirely  to  ruin.  There  was 
a  chapel,  for  religious  services  and  worship  ;  there 
were  ovens  for  baking,  and  a  brewery  for  brew 
ing  beer.  The  guide  showed  Mr.  George  and 
the  boys  the  places  where  these  buildings  stood  ; 
though  nothing  was  left  of  them  now  but  the 
rude  ranges  of  stone  which  marked  the  founda 
tions  of  them.  Indeed,  throughout  the  whole 


LOCH  LEVEN.  149 

General  character  of  guidss.  The  guides  at  Loch  Leven. 

interior  of  the  area  enclosed  by  the  castle  wall 
there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  but  stones  and 
heaps  of  rubbish,  all  overgrown  with  rank  grass, 
and  tall  wild-flowers,  and  overshadowed  by  the 
wide-spreading  limbs  and  dense  foliage  of  several 
enormous  trees,  that  had  by  chance  sprung  up 
since  the  castle  went  to  ruin.  It  was  a  very 
mournful  spectacle.  - 

The  boys  walked  directly  across  the  area,  to 
wards  the  hexagonal  tower,  in  order  to  see  the 
place  where  Queen  Mary  escaped  by  climbing 
out  of  the  window. 

Mr.  George  had  thought  that  Waldron  would 
not  succeed  in  obtaining  any  satisfactory  infor 
mation  from  the  guide  in  respect  to  the  circum 
stances  of  Queen  Mary's  escape ;  for,  generally, 
the  guides  who  show  these  old  places  in  England 
and  Scotland  know  little  more  than  a  certain  les 
son,  which  they  have  learned  by  rote.  But  the 
guides  who  show  the  Castle  of  Loch  Leven  seem 
to  me  exceptions  to  this  rule.  I  have  visited  the 
place  two  or  three  times,  at  intervals  of  many 
years,  and  the  guides  who  have  conducted  me  to 
the  spot  have  always  been  very  intelligent  and 
well-informed  young  men,  and  have  seemed  to 
possess  a  very  clear  and  comprehensive  under 
standing  of  the  events  of  Queen  Mary's  life.  At 
any  rate,  the  guide  in  this  instance  gave  Wai- 


150  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Lady  Douglass.  Interior  of  the  hexagonal  tower. 

dron  and  Rollo  a  very  good  account  of  the 
escape ;  separating  in  his  narrative,  in  a  very 
discriminating  manner,  those  things  which  are 
known,  on  good  historical  evidence,  to  be  true, 
from  those  which  rest  only  on  the  authority  of 
traditionary  legends.  He  gave  his  account,  too, 
in  a  very  gentle  tone  of  voice,  and  with  a  Scotch 
accent,  which  seemed  so  appropriate  to  the  place 
and  to  the  occasion  that  it  imparted  to  his  con 
versation  a  peculiar  charm. 

"  The  country  was  divided  in  those  days,"  said 
he,  "  and  some  of  the  nobles  were  for  the  poor 
queen,  and  some  were  against  her.  The  owner 
of  this  castle  was  Lady  Douglass,  and  she  was 
against  her ;  and  so  they  sent  Mary  here,  for  Lady 
Douglass  to  keep  her  safely,  while  they  arranged 
a  new  government. 

"  But  she  made  her  escape  by  this  window, 
which  I  will  show  ye." 

So  saying,  the  guide  led  the  way  up  two  or 
three  old,  time-worn,  and  dilapidated  steps,  into 
the  hexagonal  tower.  The  tower  was  small  — 
being,  apparently,  not  more  than  twelve  feet  di 
ameter  within.  The  floors,  except  the  lower  one, 
and  also  the  roof,  were  entirely  gone,  so  that  as 
Boon  as  you  entered  you  could  look  up  to  the  sky. 

The  walls  were  very  thick,  so  that  there  was 
room,  not  only  for  deep  fireplaces,  but  also  for 


LOCH  LEVEN.  151 

The  window.  The  course  of  projecting  stone. 

closets  and  for  a  staircase,  in  them.  You  could 
see  the  openings  for  these  closets,  and  also 
various  loopholes  and  windows,  at  different 
heights.  The  top  of  the  wall  was  all  broken 
away,  and  so  were  the  sills  of  the  windows  ;  and 
little  tufts  of  grass  and  of  wall  flowers  were  to 
be  seen,  here  and  there,  growing  out  of  clefts 
and  crevices.  There  were  also  rows  of  small 
square  holes  to  be  seen,  at  different  heights, 
where  the  ends  of  the  timbers  had  been  inserted, 
to  form  the  floors  of  the  several  stories. 

"  This  was  the  window  where  she  is  supposed 
to  have  got  out,"  said  the  guide. 

So  saying,  he  pointed  to  a  large  opening  in 
the  wall,  on  the  outer  side,  where  there  had  once, 
evidently,  been  a  window. 

The  boys  went  to  the  place,  and  looked  out. 
They  saw  beneath  the  window  a  smooth,  green 
lawn,  with  the  young  trees  which  had  been 
planted  growing  luxuriantly  upon  it. 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  that  before 
the  lake  was  lowered  the  water  came  up  close 
under  the  window." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  guide  ;  "  and  if  you  stand 
upon  the  sill,  and  look  down,  you  will  see  a 
course  of  projecting  stone  at  the  foot  of  the  wall 
which  was  laid  to  meet  the  wash  of  the  water." 

"  Let  me  see,"  said  Waldron,  eagerly. 


152          ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

George  and  William  Douglass.  George's  plan. 

So  saying,  Waldron  advanced  by  the  side  of 
Mr.  George,  and  looked  down.  By  leaning  over 
pretty  far  he  could  see  the  course  of  stone  very 
distinctly  that  the  guide  had  referred  to. 

"  Who  brought  the  boat  here  for  Mary  to  go 
away  in  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  Young  Douglass,"  said  the  guide,  "  Lady 
Douglass's  son.  He  was  a  young  lad,  only 
eighteen  years  old.  His  mother  was  Queen  Ma 
ry's  enemy  ;  but  he  pitied  her,  and  became  her 
friend,  and  he  devised  this  way  to  assist  her  to 
escape.  There  was  a  plan  devised  before  this,  by 
his  brother.  His  name  was  George  Douglass. 
The  one  who  came  in  the  boat  was  William. 
George's  plan  was  for  Mary  to  go  on  shore  in 
the  disguise  of  a  laundress.  The  laundress  came 
over  to  the  island  from  the  shore  in  a  boat,  to 
bring  the  linen ;  and  while  she  was  in  Mary's 
room  Mary  exchanged  clothes  with  her,  and  at 
tempted  to  go  on  shore  in  the  boat  with  the 
empty  basket.  But  the  boatmen  happened  to 
notice  her  hand,  which  was  very  delicate  and 
white,  and  they  knew  that  such  a  hand  as  that 
could  never  belong  to  a  real  laundress.  So  they 
made  her  lift  up  her  veil,  and  thus  she  was  dis 
covered." 

"  That  was  very  curious,"  said  Waldron. 

"  It  is  supposed,"  said  the  guide,  "  that  thia 


LOCH  LEVEN.  153 

The  story  of  the  false  keys. 

floor,  where  we  stand,  was  Mary's  drawing  room, 
and  the  floor  above  was  her  bed  chamber.  The 
staircase  where  she  went  up  is  there,  in  the  wall." 

"  Let's  go  up,"  said  Hollo. 

So  Hollo  and  Waldron  went  up  the  stairway. 
It  was  very  narrow,  and  rather  steep,  and  the 
steps  were  much  worn  away.  When  the  boys 
reached  the  top  they  came  to  an  opening,  through 
which  they  could  look  down  to  where  Mr.  George 
and  the  guide  were  standing  below  ;  though,  of 
course,  they  could  not  go  out ;  for  the  floor  in 
the  second  story  was  entirely  gone. 

"  There  was  a  room  above  the  bed  chamber," 
said  the  guide,  "  as  we  see  by  the  windows  and 
the  fireplace,  but  there  was  no  stairway  to  it 
from  Queen  Mary's  apartments.  The  only  access 
to  it  was  through  that  door,  which  leads  in  from 
the  top  of  the  rampart  wall.  And  there  is 
another  room  below,  and  partly  under  ground. 
That  is  the  room  where  Walter  Scott  represents 
the  false  keys  to  have  been  forged." 

"  What  false  keys  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  Why,  the  story  is,"  said  the  guide,  "  that 
young  Douglass  had  false  keys  made,  to  resemble 
the  true  ones  as  nearly  as  possible,  so  as  to  de 
ceive  his  mother.  He  then  contrived  to  get  the 
true  ones  away  from  his  mother,  and  put  the 
false  ones  in  their  place.  I  will  show  you  where 


154  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  step  ladder.  The  stone  steps. 

he  did  this,  and  explain  how  he  did  it,  when  we 
go  into  the  square  tower." 

"  Let  us  go  now,"  said  "Waldron. 

So  they  all  went  across  the  court  yard,  and 
approached  the  square  tower.  The  guide  ex 
plained  to  the  boys  that  formerly  the  entrance 
was  in  the  second  story,  through  an  opening  in 
the  wall,  which  he  showed  them.  The  way  to 
get  up  to  this  opening  was  by  a  step  ladder, 
which  could  be  let  down  or  drawn  up  by  the  peo 
ple  within,  by  means  of  chains  coming  down  from 
a  window  above.  The  step  ladder  was,  of  course, 
entirely  gone  ;  but  deep  grooves  were  to  be  seen 
in  the  sill  of  the  upper  window,  which  had  been 
worn  by  the  chains  in  letting  down  and  drawing 
up  the  ladder. 

To  accommodate  modern  visitors  a  flight  of 
loose  stone  steps  had  been  laid  outside  the  square 
tower,  leading  to  a  window  in  the  lower  story 
of  it.  Mr.  George  and  the  boys  ascended  these 
steps  and  went  in.  The  lower  room  was  the 
kitchen^  and  they  were  all  much  interested  and 
amused  in  looking  at  the  very  strange  and  curi 
ous  fixtures  and  contrivances  which  remained 
there  —  the  memorials  of  the  domestic  usages  of 
those  ancient  times. 

In  a  corner  of  the  room  was  a  flight  of  steps, 
built  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall,  leading  to  the 


LOCH  LEV  EN. 


Sir  Walter  Scott's  account  of  William  Douglass's  plan. 

story  above.  This  was  the  dining  room  and  par* 
lor  of  the  castle. 

"  It  was  here,"  said  the  guide,  "  according  to 
the  story  of  Waiter  Scott,  that  Douglass  con 
trived  to  get  possession  of  the  castle  keys.  There 
was  a  window  on  one  side  of  the  room,  from 
which  there  was  a  view,  across  the  water  of  the 
lake,  of  the  burying  ground  already  mentioned. 
Lady  Douglass,  like  almost  every  body  else  in 
those  times,  was  somewhat  superstitious,  and  Wil 
liam  arranged  it  with  a  page  that  he  was  to 
pretend  to  see  what  was  called  a  corpse  light, 
moving  about  in  the  burying  ground  ;  and  while 
his  mother  went  to  see,  he  shifted  the  keys  which 
she  had  left  upon  the  table,  taking  the  true  ones 
himself,  and  leaving  the  false  ones  in  their  place. 

"That  is  the  story  which  Sir  Walter  Scott 
relates,"  said  the  guide  ;  "  but  I  am  not  sure  that 
there  is  any  historical  authority  for  it." 

"  And  what  became  of  Queen  Mary,  after  she 
escaped  in  the  boat  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  0,  there  were  several  of  her  friends,"  said 
the  guide,  "  waiting  for  her  on  the  shore  of  the 
loch  where  she  was  to  land,  and  they  hurried  her 
away  on  horseback  to  a  castle  in  the  south  of 
Scotland,  and  there  they  gathered  an  army  for 
her,  to  defend  her  rights." 

After  this  the  boys  looked  down  through  a 


156  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  Palace  of  Holyrood.  The  story  of  Rizzio. 

trap  door,  which  led  to  a  dark  dungeon,  where 
it  is  supposed  that  prisoners  were  sometimes  con 
fined.  They  rambled  about  the  ruins  for  some 
time  longer,  and  then  they  returned  to  the  boat, 
and  came  back  to  the  shore.  When  they  arrived 
at  the  pier  they  paid  the  boatman  his  customary 
fee,  which  was  about  a  dollar  and  a  quarter,  and 
then  began  to  walk  up  towards  the  inn. 

"  Well,  boys,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  how  did  you 
like  it  ?  " 

"  Very  much  indeed,"  said  Waldron.  "  It  is 
the  best  old  castle  I  ever  saw." 

"  You  will  like  the  Palace  of  Holyrood  better, 
I  think,"  said  Mr.  George. 

"  Where  is  that  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  At  Edinburgh,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  It  is  the 
place  where  Mary  lived.  We  shall  see  the  little 
room  there  where  they  murdered  her  poor  secre 
tary,  David  Rizzio." 

"  What  did  they  murder  him  for  ? "  asked 
Waldron. 

"0,  you  will  see  when  you  come  to  read  the 
history,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  It  is  a  very  curious 
stoiy." 


EDINBURGH.  157 


Edinburgh.  Its  picturesque  situation.  The  two  town*. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
EDINBURGH. 

FROM  Loch  Leven  Castle  our  party  returned 
in  the  coach  to  the  railway  station,  and  thence 
proceeded  to  Edinburgh.  They  crossed  the  Frith 
of  Forth  by  a  ferry,  at  a  place  where  it  was 
about  five  miles  wide. 

Edinburgh  is  considered  one  of  the  most  re 
markable  cities  in  the  world,  in  respect  to  the 
picturesqueness  of  its  situation.  It  stands  upon 
and  among  a  very  extraordinary  group  of  steep 
hills  and  deep  valleys.  A  part  of  it  is  very  an 
cient,  and  another  part  is  quite  modern,  so  that 
in  describing  it,  it  is  often  said  that  it  consists 
of  the  old  town  and  the  new  town.  But  it  seems 
to  me  that  a  more  obvious  distinction  would  be, 
to  divide  it  into  the  upper  town  and  the  lower 
town  ;  for  there  are  almost  literally  two  towns, 
one  upon  the  top  of  the  other.  The  upper  town 
is  built  on  the  hills.  The  lower  one  lies  in  the 
valleys.  The  streets  of  the  upper  town  are  con 
nected  by  bridges ;  and  when  you  stand  upon  one 


158  HOLLO  IN   SCOTLAND. 

Tunnels  and  passage  ways.  Singular  streets. 

of  these  bridges,  and  look  down,  you  see  a  street 
instead  of  a  river  below,  with  ranges  of  strange 
and  antique-looking  buildings  on  each  side,  for 
banks,  and  a  current  of  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren  flowing  along,  instead  of  water. 

The  different  portions  of  the  lower  town,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  connected  by  tunnels  and 
arched  passage  ways  under  the  bridges  above 
described  ;  and  then  there  are  flights  of  steps, 
and  steep  winding  or  zigzag  paths,  leading  up 
and  down  between  the  lower  streets  and  the  up 
per,  in  the  most  surprising  manner. 

There  are  twenty  places,  more  or  less,  in  the 
town,  where  you  have  two  streets  crossing  each 
other  at  right  angles,  one  fifty  feet  below  the 
other,  with  an  immense  traffic  of  horses,  car 
riages,  carts,  and  foot  passengers,  going  to  and 
fro  in  both  of  them.  You  come  upon  these  places 
sometimes  very  unexpectedly.  You  are  walking 
along  on  the  pavement  of  a  crowded  street,  when 
you  come  suddenly  upon  the  break,  or  interrup 
tion  in  the  line  of  building  on  each  side.  The 
space  is  occupied  by  a  parapet,  or  by  a  high  iron 
balustrade.  You  stop  to  look  over,  expecting  to 
see  a  river  or  a  canal ;  instead  of  which,  you  find 
yourself  looking  down  into  the  chimneys  of  four- 
story  houses  bordering  another  street  below  you, 
which  is  »o  Tar  down  that  the  people  walking  in 


EDINBURGH.  159 


Scenes  from  the  parapets.  The  parallel  streets. 

it,  and  the  children  playing  on  the  sidewalk,  look 
like  pygmies. 

At  one  place,  in  looking  over  the  parapet  of 
such  a  bridge,  you  see  a  vast  market,  with  carts 
filled  with  vegetables  standing  all  around  it.  At 
another,  you  behold  a  great  railway  station,  with 
crowds  of  passengers  on  the  platforms,  and  trains 
of  cars  coming  and  going  ;  at  another,  a  range 
of  beautiful  gardens  and  pleasure  grounds,  with 
ladies  and  gentlemen  walking  in  them,  or  sitting 
on  seats  under  the  trees,  and  children  trundling 
their  hoops,  or  rolling  their  balls,  over  the  smooth 
gravel  walks. 

Sometimes  a  street  of  the  upper  town,  running 
along  on  the  crest  or  side  of  a  hill,  lies  paralkl 
with  one  in  the  lower  town,  that  extends  below 
it  in  the  valley.  In  this  case  the  block  of  houses 
that  comes  between  will  be  very  high  indeed  on 
the  side  towards  the  lower  street ;  so  that  you 
see  buildings  sometimes  eight  or  ten  stories  high 
at  one  front,  and  only  four  or  five  on  the  other. 
These  structures  consist,  in  fact,  of  two  houses, 
one  on  top  of  the  other  ;  the  entrances  to  the 
lower  house  being  from  one  of  the  streets  of  the 
lower  town,  and  those  leading  to  the  one  on  the 
top  being  from  a  street  in  the  upper  town. 

The  reason  why  Edinburgh  was  built  in  this 
extraordinary  position  was,  because  it  had  its 


160  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Explanation  of  the  extraordinary  appearance  of  Edinburgh. 

origin  in  a  castle  on  a  rock.  This  rock,  with  the 
castle  that  crowns  the  summit  of  it,  rears  its  lofty 
head  now  in  the  very  centre  of  the  town,  with 
deep  valleys  all  around  it.  This  rock,  or  rather 
rocky  hill,  —  for  it  is  nearly  a  mile  in  circumfer 
ence, —  is  very  steep  on  all  sides  but  one.  On  that 
side  there  is  a  gradual  slope,  a  mile  or  more  in 
length,  leading  down  to  the  level  country.  A 
great  many  centuries  ago  the  military  chieftains 
of  those  days  built  the  castle  on  the  hill.  About 
the  same  time  the  monks  built  a  monastery  on 
the  level  ground  at  the  foot  of  the  long  slope 
leading  down  from  the  castle.  The  rocky  hill 
was  an  excellent  place  for  the  castle,  for  there 
was  a  hundred  feet  of  almost  perpendicular  pre 
cipice  on  all  sides  but  one,  and  on  that  side  there 
was  a  convenient  slope  for  the  people  who  lived 
in  the  castle  to  go  up  and  down  ;  and  thus,  by 
fortifying  this  side,  and  making  slight  walls  on 
all  the  other  sides,  the  whole  place  would  be  very 
secure.  The  level  ground  below,  too,  was  a  very 
good  place  for  the  monastery  or  abbey  ;  for  it 
was  easily  accessible  from  all  the  country  around, 
and  was,  moreover,  in  the  midst  of  a  region  of 
fertile  land,  easy  for  the  lay  brethren  to  till. 
There  was  no  necessity  that  the  abbey  should  be 
in  a  fortified  place,  for  such  establishments  were 


EDINBURGH.  161 


The  palace  and  the  abbey.  Way  in  which  the  towns  were  built. 

considered  sacred  in  those  days,  and  even  in  the 
most  furious  wars  they  were  seldom  molested. 

In  process  of  time  a  palace  was  built  by  the 
side  of  the  abbey.  This  palace  and  a  part  of 
the  ruins  of  the  abbey  still  remain.  Of  course, 
when  the  palace  was  built,  a  town  would  gradu 
ally  grow  up  near  it.  Many  noblemen  of  the 
realm  came  and  built  houses  along  the  street 
which  led  from  the  palace  up  to  the  castle  —  now 
called  High  Street.  The  fronts  of  these  houses 
were  on  the  street,  and  the  gardens  behind  them 
extended  down  the  slopes  of  the  ridge  on  both 
sides,  into  the  deep  valleys  that  bordered  them. 
Little  lanes  were  left  between  these  houses,  lead 
ing  down  the  slopes ;  but  they  were  closed  at  the 
bottom  by  a  wall,  which  was  built  along  at  the 
foot  of  the  descent  on  each  side,  and  formed  the 
enclosure  of  the  town. 

In  process  of  time  the  town  extended  down 
into  these  valleys,  and  then  to  the  other  hills  be 
yond  them.  Then  bridges  were  built  here  and 
there  across  the  valleys,  to  lead  from  one  hill  to 
another,  and  tunnels  and  other  subterranean  pas 
sages  were  made,  to  connect  one  valley  with 
another,  until,  finally,  the  town  assumed  the  very 
extraordinary  appearance  which  it  now  presents 
to  view.  Besides  the  hills  within  the  town,  there 
are  some  very  large  and  high  ones  just  beyond 
11 


162  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Arthur's  Seat.  Entrance  to  Edinburgh.  Prince's  Street. 

the  limits  of  it.  One  of  these  is  called  Arthur's 
Seat,  and  is  quite  a  little  mountain.  The  path 
leading  to  the  top  of  it  runs  along  upon  the  crest 
of  a  remarkable  range  of  precipices,  called  Salis 
bury  Crags.  These  precipices  face  towards  the 
town,  and  together  with  the  lofty  summit  of  Ar 
thur's  Seat,  which  rises  immediately  behind  them, 
form  a  very  conspicuous  object  from  a  great 
many  points  of  view  in  and  around  the  town. 

Unfortunately,  however,  none  of  this  exceed 
ingly  picturesque  scenery  could  be  seen  to  advan 
tage  by  our  party,  on  the  day  that  they  arrived 
in  Edinburgh,  on  account  of  the  rain.  All  that 
they  knew  was,  that  they  came  into  the  town  by 
a  tunnel,  and  when  they  left  the  train  at  the  sta 
tion  they  were  at  the  bottom  of  so  deep  a  valley 
that  they  had  to  ascend  to  the  third  story  before 
they  could  get  out,  and  then  they  had  to  go  up  a 
hill  to  get  to  the  street  in  which  the  hotel  was 
situated. 

The  name  of  this  street  was  Prince's  Street. 
It  lay  along  the  margin  of  one  of  the  Edinburgh 
hills,  overlooking  a  long  valley,  which  extended 
between  it  and  Castle  Hill,  on  which  the  town 
was  first  built.  There  were  no  houses  in  this 
street  on  the  side  towards  the  valley,  but  there 
were  several  bridges  leading  across  the  valley,  as 
if  it  had  been  a  river.  Beyond  the  valley  were 


EDINBURGH.  163 


Hollo's  account  of  the  aspect  of  Edinburgh. 


to  be  seen  the  backs  of  the  houses  in  High 
Street,  which  looked  like  a  range  of  cliffs,  di 
vided  by  vertical  chasms  and  seams,  and  black 
ened  by  time.  At  one  end  of  the  hill  was  the 
3astle  rock,  crowned  with  the  towers,  and  bas 
tions,  and  battlemented  walls  of  the  ancient  for 
tress. 

The  boys  went  directly  to  their  rooms  when 
they  arrived  at  the  hotel,  and  while  Mr.  George 
was  unstrapping  and  opening  his  valise,  Waldron 
and  Rollo  went  to  look  out  at  the  window,  to  see 
what  they  could  see. 

"  Well,  boys,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  how  does  it 
look  ?  " 

"  It  looks  rainy,"  said  Rollo.  "  But  we  can  see 
something." 

"  What  can  you  see  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  We  can  see  the  castle  on  the  hill,"  said  Rollo. 
"  At  least,  I  suppose  it  is  the  castle.  It  is  right 
before  us,  across  the  valley,  with  a  precipice  of 
rocks  all  around  it,  on  every  side  but  one.  There 
is  a  zigzag  wall  running  round  on  the  top  of  the 
precipices,  close  to  the  brink  of  them.  If  a  man 
could  climb  up  the  rocks  he  could  not  get  in, 
after  all." 

"  And  what  is  there  inside  the  wall  ?  "  asked 
Mr.  George. 

"  0,  there  are  ever  so  many  buildings,"  said 


164  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Mons  Meg.  Supper. 

Hollo  —  "  great  stone  forts,  and  barracks,  and 
bastions,  rising  up  one  above  another,  and  watch 
towers  on  the  angles  of  the  walls.  I  can  see 
one,  two,  three  watch  towers.  I  should  like  to 
oe  in  one  of  them.  I  could  look  over  the  whole 
city,  and  all  the  country  around. 

"  I  can  see  some  portholes,  with  guns  pointing 
out,  —  and — 0,  and  now  I  see  a  monstrous  great 
gun,  looking  over  this  way,  from  one  of  the 
highest  platforms.  I  believe  it  is  a  gun." 

"  I  suppose  it  must  be  Mons  Meg,"  said  Mr. 
George. 

"  Mons  Meg  ?  "  repeated  Rollo.  "  I'll  get  a 
glass  and  see." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  There  is  a  very 
famous  old  gun  in  Edinburgh  Castle,  named 
Mons  Meg.  I  think  it  may  be  that." 

"  I  can't  see  very  plain,"  said  Rollo,  "  the  air 
is  so  thick  with  the  rain  ;  but  it  is  a  monstrous 
gun." 

Just  at  this  time  the  waiter  came  into  the 
room  to  ask  the  party  if  they  would  have  any 
thing  to  eat. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  we  will.  Go  down 
with  the  waiter,  boys,  and  see  what  there  is,  and 
order  a  good  supper.  I  will  come  down  in  fifteen 
minutes." 

So  the  boys  went  down,  and  in  fifteen  minutes 


EDINBURGH.  165 


Waldron  goes  to  the  circulating  library.  His  return. 

Mr.  George  followed.  He  found  the  supper  table 
ready  in  a  corner  of  the  coffee  room,  and  Rollo 
sitting  by  it  alone. 

"  Where  is  Waldron  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  He's  gone  to  the  circulating  library,"  said 
Hollo. 

"  The  circulating  library  ? "  repeated  Mr. 
George. 

"  He  has  gone  to  get  a  book  about  the  history 
of  Scotland,"  said  Rollo.  "  We  have  been  read 
ing  in  the  guide  book  about  the  castle,  and  Wal 
dron  says  he  wants  to  know  something  more 
about  the  kings,  and  the  battles  they  fought." 

"  How  does  he  know  there  is  any  circulating 
library  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  He  asked  the  waiter,"  said  Rollo,  "  and  the 
waiter  told  him  where  there  was  one.  He  said 
he  would  try  to  be  back  before  the  supper  was 
ready,  and  that  we  must  not  wait  for  him  if  he 
did  not  come." 

"  He  ought  to  have  asked  me  if  I  was  willing 
that  he  should  go,"  said  Mr.  George. 

In  a  few  minutes  Waldron  came  in  with  two 
pretty  big  books  under  his  arm.  They  were  cov 
ered  with  paper,  in  the  manner  usual  with  the 
books  of  circulating  libraries.  Waldron  ad 
vanced  to  the  supper  table,  and  laid  the  books 
down  upon  it  with  an  air  of  great  satisfaction. 


166  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

How  Waldron  succeeded  in  obtaining  books,  from  the  library. 

"  Then  you  found  a  circulating  library,"  said 
Mr.  George. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Waldron,  "  and  I  have  got 
two  volumes  of  the  history  of  the  great  men  of 
Scotland." 

"  What  did  you  get  two  volumes  for  ?  "  asked 
Mr.  George. 

"  One  for  Rollo  and  one  for  me,"  said  Wal 
dron.  "  They  are  for  us  to  read  this  evening, 
because  it  rains." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  George,  after  a  moment's 
pause.  "  I  am  very  glad  to  find  that  you  take 
an  interest  in  reading  about  Scotland  ;  but  you 
ought  to  have  asked  me,  before  you  went  away 
to  get  books  from  a  circulating  library." 

Waldron  paused  a  moment  on  hearing  this 
remark,  and  his  countenance  assumed  a  very  seri 
ous  expression. 

"  So  I  ought,"  said  he.  "  I  did  not  think  of 
that.  And  now,  if  you  think  I  had  better,  I  will 
go  and  carry  them  right  back." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  I  don't  wish  you  to 
carry  them  back.  But  I  should  not  have  thought 
they  would  have  intrusted  such  books  to  you  — 
a  perfect  stranger  —  and  a  boy  besides." 

"  I  made  a  deposit,"  said  Waldron. 

Just  at  this  time  the  waiter  brought  the  supper 


EDINBURGH.  167 


Short  evenings.  The  boys  surprised. 

to  the  table,  and  the  party,  being  all  hungry,  set 
themselves  to  the  work  of  eating  it. 

"  You  see,"  said  Waldron,  when  they  had  nearly 
finished  their  supper,  "  I  thought  we  should  want 
something  to  do  this  evening ;  it  rains,  and  we 
can't  go  out." 

"  What  time  in  the  evening  do  you  suppose  it 
is  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  Why,  it  is  not  near  dark  yet,"  said  Waldron. 

"  True,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  but  it  is  almost 
ten  o'clock." 

0  Mr.  George !  "  exclaimed  Waldron. 

"  It  is  half  past  nine,  at  any  rate,"  said  Mr. 
George. 

The  boys  were  greatly  surprised  at  hearing 
this.  They  were  very  slow  in  learning  to  keep 
in  mind  how  late  the  sun  goes  down  in  the  mid 
dle  of  June  in  these  extreme  northern  latitudes. 

However,  on  this  occasion  it  was  dark  earlier 
than  usual,  on  account  of  the  clouds  and  the  rain  ; 
and  the  waiter  came  to  light  the  gas  over  the 
table  where  our  party  were  at  supper,  before  they 
finished  their  meal,  although  it  was  only  a  little 
more  than  half  past  nine.  This  made  it  very 
bright  and  cheerful  in  the  corner,  and  Mr.  George 
proposed  that  they  should  all  stay  there  one  hour. 
"  I  will  write,"  said  he,  "  and  you  may  read  in  your 
books.  We  will  stay  here  till  half  past  ten,  and 


168  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Evening  occupations.  The  six  Jameses. 

then,  after  you  have  gone  to  bed,  you  can  talk 
yourselves  to  sleep  by  telling  each  other  what 
you  have  read  about  in  your  books." 

This  plan  was  carried  into  effect.  Mr.  George 
wrote,  and  the  boys  read,  by  the  light  of  the  gas 
for  an  hour.  Then  Mr.  George  put  away  his 
papers,  and  said  it  was  time  to  go  to  bed.  When 
the  boys  went  to  their  bedroom  they  found  two 
narrow  beds  in  it,  one  in  each  corner  of  the 
room.  Waldron  took  one  of  them,  and  Rollo  the 
other.  When  both  the  boys  were  in  bed  they 
commenced  conversation  in  respect  to  what  they 
had  been  reading. 

"  Come,  Waldron,"  said  Rollo,  "  tell  me  what 
you  have  been  reading  about." 

"  No,"  said  Waldron,  "  you  must  begin." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  read  about  King  James 
the  First.  There  have  been  a  good  many  King 
Jameses  in  Scotland." 

"  Yes,"  said  Waldron,  "  six." 

"  This  was  King  James  the  First.  He  was  a 
bad  king.  He  oppressed  his  people,  and  they 
determined  to  kill  him.  So  they  banded  together 
and  made  a  plot.  They  were  going  to  kill  him 
in  a  monastery  where  he  stopped  on  a  journey. 

"  He  was  going  over  a  river  just  before  he 
came  to  the  monastery,  and  a  woman,  who  pre 
tended  to  be  a  prophetess,  called  out  to  him  as 


EDINBURGH.  169 

The  prophetess.  The  plan  of  the  conspirators. 

he  went  by  towards  the  bank  of  the  river,  and 
told  him  to  beware,  for  if  he  crossed  that  river 
he  would  certainly  be  killed.  The  king  was  very 
superstitious ;  so  he  sent  one  of  his  men  back  to 
ask  the  woman  what  she  meant.  The  man  came 
to  him  again  very  soon,  and  said  that  it  was 
nothing  but  an  old  drunken  woman  raving,  and 
that  he  must  not  mind  her.  So  the  king  went  on. 

"  He  crossed  the  water,  and  went  to  the  mon 
astery.  The  conspirators  were  there  before  him. 
The  leader  of  them  was  a  man  named  Graham. 
He  had  three  hundred  Highlanders  with  him. 
They  were  all  concealed  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  monastery.  They  were  going  to  break  into 
the  king's  room  in  the  monastery,  at  night,  and 
kill  him.  They  found  out  the  room  where  he  was 
going  to  sleep,  and  they  took  off  the  bolts  from 
the  doors,  so  as  to  keep  them  from  fastening 
them. 

"  The  woman  that  had  met  the  king  on  the 
way  followed  him  to  the  monastery,  and  wanted 
to  see  the  king.  They  told  her  she  could  not  see 
him.  She  said  she  must  see  him.  They  told  her 
that  at  any  rate  she  could  not  see  him  then  —  he 
was  tired  with  his  journey.  She  must  go  away, 
they  said,  and  come  the  next  day.  So  she  went 
away  ;  but  she  told  them  they  would  all  be  sorry 
for  not  letting  her  iu." 


170  ROLLO  IN   SCOTLAND. 

The  alarm.  Endeavors  to  escape. 

"  Do  you  suppose  she  really  knew,"  asked 
Waldron,  "  that  they  were  going  to  kill  the 
king  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Rollo.  "  At  any  rate, 
she  seemed  very  much  in  earnest  about  warning 
him." 

"  Well ;  go  on  with  the  story,"  said  Waldron. 

"  Why,  the  conspirators  broke  into  the  room 
that  night  just  as  the  king  was  going  to  bed.  He 
was  sitting  near  the  fire,  in  his  gown  and  slip 
pers,  talking  with  the  queen  and  the  other  ladies 
that  were  there,  when,  all  at  once,  he  heard  a 
terrible  noise  at  the  doors  of  the  monastery.  It 
was  the  conspirators  trying  to  get  in." 

"  Why  did  not  they  come  right  in,"  asked 
Waldron,  "  if  the  doors  were  not  fastened  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  suppose  there  were  guards,  or  some 
thing,  outside,  that  tried  to  prevent  them.  At 
any  rate,  the  king  heard  a  frightful  noise,  like 
clattering  and  jingling  of  armor,  and  of  men  try 
ing  to  get  in.  He  arid  the  women  who  were 
there  ran  to  the  door  and  tried  to  fasten  it ;  but 
the  bolts  and  bars  were  gone.  So  the  king  told 
them  to  hold  the  door  with  all  their  strength,  till 
he  could  find  something  to  fasten  it  with.  The 
king  went  to  the  window,  and  tried  to  tear  oif 
an  iron  stanchion  there  was  there,  but  he  could 
uot.  Then  he  saw  a  trap  door  in  the  floor,  which 


EDINBURGH.  171 


The  trap  door.  The  broken  arm. 

led  down  to  a  kind  of  dark  dungeon.  So  he  took 
the  tongs  and  pried  up  the  door,  and  jumped 
down. 

"  By  the  time  that  he  got  down,  and  the  door 
was  shut  over  him,  the  conspirators  came  in,  and 
began  to  look  all  about  for  him  ;  but  they  could 
not  find  him.  I  suppose  they  did  not  see  the 
trap  door.  Or,  perhaps,  the  women  had  covered 
it  over  with  something." 

"  Well,  and  what  did  they  do  ?  "  asked  Wal- 
dron. 

"  Why,  they  were  dreadfully  angry  because 
they  could  not  find  the  king,  and  some  of  them 
were  going  to  kill  the  queen  ;  but  the  rest  would 
not  let  them.  But  there  was  one  of  the  women 
that  got  her  arm  broken.''' 

"  How  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  She  did  it  somehow  or  other  holding  the 
door.  I  suppose  she  got  it  wedged  in  some  way. 
She  was  a  countess. 

"  After  a  while,"  continued  Rollo,  "  the  men 
went  away,  to  look  in  some  of  the  other  rooms  of 
the  monastery,  and  see  if  they  could  not  find  the 
king  there.  As  soon  as  they  were  gone  the  king 
wanted  to  get  out  of  the  dungeon.  The  women 
opened  the  trap  door,  but  he  could  not  reach  up 
high  enough  to  get  out.  So  he  told  them  to  go 


172  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

An  imprisoned  king.  The  king  discovered. 

and  get  some  sheets  and  let  them  down,  for  ropes 
to  pull  him  up  by. 

"  They  brought  the  sheets,  and  while  they  were 
letting  them  down,  and  trying  to  get  the  king 
out,  one  of  the  ladies  fell  down  herself  into  the 
hole.  So  there  were  two  to  get  up ;  and  while 
the  others  were  trying  to  get  them  up,  the  con 
spirators  came  in  again." 

"  Hoh  !  "  said  Waldron. 

"  One  of  them  had  a  torch,"  said  Hollo,  con 
tinuing  his  narrative.  "  He  brought  the  torch 
and  held  it  down  the  trap  door,  and  presently  he 
caught  sight  of  the  king.  So  he  called  out  to  the 
other  conspirators  that  he  had  found  him,  and 
they  all  came  round  the  place,  with  their  swords, 
and  daggers,  and  knives  in  their  hands. 

"  One  of  them  let  himself  down  into  the  dun 
geon.  He  had  a  great  knife  in  his  hand  for  a 
dagger.  But  the  king  seized  him  the  instant  he 
came  down,  got  his  knife  away  from  him,  and 
pinned  him  to  the  ground.  The  king  was  a  very 
strong  man.  Immediately  another  man  came 
lown,  and  the  king  seized  him,  and  held  him 
down  in  the  same  way.  Next  Graham  himself 
came  with  a  sword.  He  stabbed  the  king  with 
his  sword,  and  so  disabled  him.  The  king  then 
began  to  beg  for  his  life,  and  Graham  did  not 
eeem  to  like  to  strike  him  again.  But  the  other 


EDINBUEGH.  173 


The  king  killed.  "Waldron's  story  begun.  Fast  asleep. 

conspirators,  who  were  looking  down  through 
the  trap  door,  said  if  he  did  not  do  it  they  would 
kill  him.  So  at  last  he  stabbed  the  king  again, 
and  killed  him." 

When  Rollo  had  finished  the  story  he  paused, 
expecting  that  Waldron  would  say  something  in 
relation  to  it. 

"  Is  that  all  ?  "  said  Waldron,  after  waiting  a 
moment.  He  spoke,  however,  in  a  very  sleepy 
tone  of  voice. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  that  is  all.  Now  tell  me 
your  story." 

Waldron  began;  but  he  seemed  very  sleepy, 
and  he  had  advanced  only  a  very  little  way  be 
fore  his  words  began  to  grow  incoherent  and 
faltering,  and  very  soon  Rollo  perceived  that  he 
was  going  to  sleep.  Indeed,  Rollo  himself  was 
beginning  to  feel  sleepy,  too  ;  so  he  said, — 

"  No  matter,  Waldron.  You  can  tell  me  your 
story  to-morrow." 

In  five  minutes  from  that  time  both  the  boys 
were  fast  asleep. 


174  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  Palace  of  Holyrood.  Mary  the  last  Scotch  soyereign. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE  PALACE  OF  HOLYROOD. 

WHILE  Mr.  George  and  the  boys  were  in  Ed 
inburgh,  they  went  one  day  to  visit  the  Palace  of 
Holyrood,  and  they  were  extremely  interested  in 
what  they  saw  there.  This  palace  stands,  as  has 
already  been  stated,  on  a  plain,  not  far  from  the 
foot  of  a  loDg  slope  which  leads  up  to  the  castle. 

As  long  as  Scotland  remained  an  independent 
kingdom,  the  Palace  of  Holyrood  was  the  prin 
cipal  residence  of  the  royal  family.  Queen  Mary 
was  the  last  of  the  Scottish  sovereigns  —  that  is, 
she  was  the  last  that  reigned  over  Scotland  alone 
—  for  her  son,  James  VI.,  succeeded  to  the  throne 
of  England,  as  well  as  to  that  of  Scotland.  The 
reason  of  this  was,  that  the  English  branch  of 
the  royal  line  failed,  and  he  was  the  next  heir. 
So  he  became  James  the  First  of  England,  while 
he  still  remained  James  the  Sixth  of  Scotland. 
And  from  this  time  forward  the  kings  of  England 
and  Scotland  were  one. 

Mary,  therefore,  was  the  last  of  the  exclusively 


THE  PALACE  OF  HOLYROOD.     175 

Mary's  rooms.  The  reason  why  they  have  been  left  unoccupied. 

Scottish  line.  She  lived  at  Holyrood  as  long  as 
she  was  allowed  to  live  any  where  in  peace ;  and 
on  account  of  certain  very  peculiar  circumstances 
which  occurred  just  before  the  time  that  she  left 
the  palace,  her  rooms  were  never  occupied  after 
she  left  them,  but  have  remained  to  this  day  in 
the  same  state,  and  with  almost  the  same  furni 
ture  in  them  as  at  the  hour  when  she  went  away. 
These  rooms  are  called  Queen  Mary's  rooms,  and 
almost  every  body  who  visits  Scotland  goes  to 
see  them. 

The  reason  why  the  rooms  which  Mary  occu 
pied  in  the  Palace  of  Holyrood  were  left  as  they 
were,  and  never  occupied  by  any  other  person 
after  Mary  went  away,  was  principally  that  a 
dreadful  murder  was  committed  there  just  be 
fore  Mary  quitted  them.  This,  of  course,  con 
nected  very  gloomy  associations  with  the  palace  ; 
and  while  great  numbers  of  persons  were  eager 
to  go  and  see  the  place  where  the  man  was 
killed,  few  would  be  willing  to  live  there.  The 
consequence  has  been,  that  the  apartments  have 
been  vacant  of  occupants  ever  since,  though  they 
are  filled  all  the  time  with  a  perpetually  flowing 
stream  of  visitors.  The  circumstances  of  the 
murder  were  very  extraordinary.  Mr.  George 
explained  the  case  briefly  to  the  boys  during 
their  visit  to  the  palace,  as  we  shall  presently  see 


176  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  valley  side.         Scott's  monument.         The  walk  through  the  city. 

On  leaving  the  hotel  they  went  for  a  little  way 
along  Prince's  Street.  On  one  side  of  the  street 
there  was  a  row  of  stores,  hotels,  and  other  such 
buildings,  as  in  Broadway,  in  New  York.  On 
the  other  side  extended  the  long  and  deep  valley 
which  lies  between  Prince's  Street  and  Castle 
Hill.  The  valley  was  crossed  by  various  bridges, 
and  beyond  it  were  to  be  seen  the  backs  of  the 
lofty  houses  of  High  Street,  rising  tier  above 
tier  to  a  great  height,  looking,  as  has  already 
been  said,  like  a  range  of  stupendous  cliffs,  lift 
ing  their  crests  to  the  sky. 

There  were  scarcely  any  buildings  on  the  val 
ley  side  of  the  street,  except  one  or  two  edifices 
of  an  ornamental  or  public  character.  One  of 
these  was  the  celebrated  monument  to  Sir  Walter 
Scott. 

The  party  paused  a  short  time  before  this 
monument,  and  then  went  on.  They  passed  by 
one  or  two  bridges  that  led  across  the  valley, 
and  also,  at  one  place,  a  broad  flight  of  steps, 
that  went  down,  with  many  turnings,  from  land 
ing  to  landing,  to  the  railway  station  in  the  val 
ley.  At  last  they  came  to  the  bridge  where  they 
were  to  cross  the  valley.  They  stopped  on  the 
middle  of  the  bridge,  to  look  down.  They  saw 
streets  far  below  them,  and  a  market,  and  trains 
of  railway  carriages  coming  and  going,  and  be- 


SCOTT'S  MONUMENT. 


THE  PALACE  OF  HOLYROOD.      179 

High  Street.  View  of  the  palace. 

yond,  at  some  distance,  an  extensive  range  of 
pleasure  grounds,  with  ladies  and  gentlemen  ram 
bling  about  them,  and  groups  of  children  playing. 
These  pleasure  grounds  extended  some  way  up 
the  slope  of  the  Castle  Hill.  Indeed,  the  upper 
walks  lay  close  along  under  the  foot  of  the 
precipices  on  which  the  castle  walls  were  built 
above. 

After  passing  the  bridge,  Mr.  George  and  the 
boys  went  on,  until,  at  length,  they  came  to  High 
Street ;  which  is  the  great  central  street  of  an 
cient  Edinburgh,  leading  from  the  palace  and 
abbey  on  the  plain  up  to  the  castle  on  the  hill. 
There,  if  they  had  turned  to  the  right,  they  would 
have  gone  up  to  the  castle ;  but  they  turned  to 
the  left,  and  so  descended  towards  the  palace,  on 
the  plain. 

At  length  they  reached  the  foot  of  the  descent, 
and  then,  at  a  turn  in  the  street,  the  palace  came 
suddenly  into  view. 

There  was  a  broad  paved  area  in  front  of  it. 
In  the  centre  of  the  building  was  a  large  arched 
doorway,  with  a  sentry  box  on  each  side.  At 
each  of  these  sentry  boxes  stood  a  soldier  on 
guard.  All  the  royal  palaces  of  England  are 
guarded  thus.  There  was  a  cab,  that  had  brought 
a  company  of  visitors  to  see  the  castle,  standing 
near  the  centre  of  the  square,  by  a  great  statue 


180  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  entrance.  Lord  Jarnley's  audience  chamber. 

that  was  there.  Another  cab  drove  up  just  at 
the  time  that  Mr.  George  arrived,  and  a  party 
of  visitors  got  out  of  it.  All  the  new  comers 
went  in  under  the  archway  together.  The  sol 
diers  paid  no  attention  to  them  whatever. 

The  arched  passage  way  led  into  a  square 
court,  with  a  piazza  extending  all  around  it.  The 
visitors  turned  to  the  left,  and  walked  along 
under  the  piazza  till  they  came  to  the  corner, 
where  there  was  a  little  office,  and  a  man  at  the 
window  of  it  to  give  them  tickets.  They  paid 
sixpence  apiece  for  their  tickets. 

After  getting  their  tickets  they  walked  on  un 
der  the  piazza  a  little  way  farther,  till  at  length 
they  came  to  a  door,  and  „;  broad  stone  staircase, 
leading  up  into  the  palace,  and  they  all  went  in 
and  began  to  ascend  the  stairs. 

At  the  head  of  the  stairs  they  passed  through 
a  wide  door,  which  led  into  a  room  where  they 
saw  visitors,  that  had  gone  in  before  them,  walk 
ing  about.  They  were  met  at  the  door  by  a  well- 
dressed  man,  who  received  them  politely,  and 
asked  them  to  walk  in. 

"  This,  gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  was  Lord  Darn- 
ley's  audience  chamber.  That,"  he  continued, 
pointing  through  an  open  door  at  the  side,  "  was 
his  bedroom;  and  there,"  pointing  to  another 


THE  PALACE  OF  HOLYROOD.  181 

Appearance  of  the  rooms.  Queens'  husbands. 

small  door  on  the  other  side,  "  was  the  passage 
way  leading  up  to  Queen  Mary's  apartments." 

Having  said  this,  the  attendant  turned  away 
to  answer  some  questions  asked  him  by  the  other 
visitors,  leaving  Mr.  George  and  the  boys,  for 
the  moment,  to  look  about  the  rooms  by  them 
selves. 

The  rooms  were  large,  but  the  interior  finish 
ing  of  them  was  very  plain.  The  walls  were 
hung  with  antique-looking  pictures.  The  furni 
ture,  too,  looked  very  ancient  and  venerable. 

"  Who  was  Lord  Darnley  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  He  was  Queen  Mary's  husband,"  replied  Mr. 
George. 

"  Then  he  was  the  king,  I  suppose/'  said  Wal 
dron. 

"No,"  replied  Mr.  George,  "not  at  all.  A  king 
is  one  who  inherits  the  throne  in  his  own  right. 
When  the  throne  descends  to  a  woman,  she  is  the 
queen  ;  but  if  she  marries,  her  husband  does  not 
become  king." 

"  What  is  he  then  ?  "  said  Waldron. 

"  Nothing  but  the  queen's  husband,"  said  Mr. 
George. 

"  Hoh  1 "  exclaimed  Waldron,  in  a  tone  of  con 
tempt. 

"  He  does  not  acquire  any  share  of  the  queen's 
power,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "  because  he  mar- 


182  HOLLO  IN   SCOTLAND. 

Kings'  wives.  Portrait  of  Queen  Mary. 

ries  her.     She  is  the  sovereign  alone  afterwards 
just  as  much  as  before." 

"  And  so  I  suppose,"  said  Rollo,  "  that  when  a 
king  marries,  the  lady  that  he  marries  does  not 
become  a  queen." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  the  rule  does  not 
seem  to  work  both  ways.  A  lady  who  marries  a 
king  is  always  called  a  queen  ;  though,  after  all, 
she  acquires  no  share  of  the  royal  power.  She 
is  a  queen  in  name  only.  But  let  us  hear  what 
this  man  is  explaining  to  the  visitors  about  the 
paintings  and  the  furniture." 

So  they  advanced  to  the  part  of  the  room 
where  the  attendant  was  standing,  with  two  or 
three  ladies  and  gentlemen,  who  were  looking  at 
one  of  the  old  pictures  that  were  hanging  on  the 
wall.  It  was  a  picture  of  Queen  Mary  when  she 
was  fifteen  years  old.  The  dress  was  very  quaint 
and  queer,  and  the  picture  seemed  a  good  deal 
faded ;  but  the  face  wore  a  very  sweet  and  charm 
ing  expression. 

"  I  think  she  was  a  very  pretty  girl,"  whispered 
Waldron  in  Rollo's  ear. 

"She  was  in  France  at  that  time,"  said  the 
attendant,  "  and  the  picture,  if  it  is  an  original, 
must  have  been  painted  there,  and  she  must  have 
brought  it  with  her  to  Scotland,  on  her  return 
from  that  country.  She  brought  a  great  deal 


THE  PALACE  OP  HOLYROOD.   183 

The  Gobelin  tapestry.  The  consultation  of  the  conspirators. 

with  her  on  her  return.  There  were  several  ves 
sel  loads  of  furniture,  paintings,  &c.  The  tapestry 
in  the  bedroom  was  brought.  It  was  wrought  at 
the  Gobelins." 

Mr.  George  went  into  the  bedroom,  to  look  at 
the  tapestry.  Two  sides  of  the  room  were  hung 
with  it. 

"  It  looks  like  a  carpet  hung  on  the  walls," 
said  Waldron. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George ;  "  a  richly  embroidered 
carpet." 

The  figures  on  the  tapestry  consisted  of  groups 
of  horsemen,  elegantly  equipped  and  caparisoned. 
The  horses  were  prancing  about  in  a  very  spirited 
manner.  The  whole  work  looked  very  dingy, 
and  the  colors  were  very  much  faded  ;  but  it  was 
evident  that  it  must  have  been  very  splendid  in 
its  day. 

After  looking  at  the  tapestry,  and  at  the  vari 
ous  articles  of  quaint  and  queer  old  furniture  in 
this  room,  the  company  followed  the  attendant 
into  another  apartment. 

"  This,"  said  he,  "  is  the  room  where  Lord 
Darnley,  Ruthven,  and  the  rest,  held  their  con- 
BU!  tation  and  formed  their  plans  for  the  murder 
of  Rizzio  ;  and  there  is  the  door  leading  to  the 
private  stairway  where  they  went  up.  You  can 
not  go  up  that  way  now,  but  you  will  see  where 


184  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  stairway.  Five  minutes  of  explanation. 

they  came  out  above  when  you  go  up  into  Queen 
Mary's  apartments." 

"  Let  us  go  now,"  said  Waldron. 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  and  then  we  can 
come  into  these  rooms  again  when  we  come 
down." 

So  Mr.  George  and  the  boys  walked  back, 
through  Lord  Darnley's  rooms,  to  the  place  where 
they  came  in.  Here  they  saw  that  the  same 
broad  flight  of  stone  stairs,  by  which  they  had 
come  up  from  the  court  below,  continued  to 
ascend  to  the  upper  stories.  There  was  a  painted 
inscription  on  a  board  there,  too,  saying,  "  To 
Queen  Mary's  apartments,"  with  a  hand  pointing 
up  the  staircase.  So  they  knew  that  that  was 
the  way  they  must  go. 

As  they  went  up,  both  Rollo  and  Waldron 
asked  Mr.  George  to  explain  to  them  something 
about  the  murder,  so  that  they  might  know  a  lit 
tle  what  they  were  going  to  see. 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  I  will.  Let  us  sit 
down  here,  and  I  will  tell  you  as  much  as  I  can 
tell  in  five  minutes.  Really  to  understand  the 
whole  affair,  you  would  have  to  read  as  much  as 
you  could  read  in  a  week.  And  I  assure  you  it 
is  an  exceedingly  interesting  and  entertaining 
story. 

"  Darnley,  you  know,  was  the  queen's  husband. 


THE  PALACE  OF  HOLYROOD.  185 

Mary's  marriage  with  Darnley.  Darnley's  ambition. 

Her  first  husband  was  the  young  Prince  of  France ; 
but  he  died  before  Queen  Mary  came  home.  So 
that  when  she  came  home  she  was  a  widow  ;  very 
young,  and  exceedingly  beautiful.  There  is  a 
very  beautiful  painting  of  her,  I  am  told,  in  the 
castle.'7 

"  Let  us  go  and  see  it,"  said  Waldron. 

"To-morrow,"  said' Mr.  George. 

"  After  Queen  Mary  had  been  in  Scotland  some 
little  time,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "  she  was  mar 
ried  again  to  this  Lord  Darnley.  He  was  an 
English  prince.  The  whole  story  of  her  first 
becoming  acquainted  with  Darnley,  and  how  the 
marriage  was  brought  about,  is  extremely  inter 
esting  ;  but  I  have  not  time  now  to  tell  it  to  you. 

"  After  they  were  married  they  lived  together 
for  a  time  very  happily ;  but  at  length  some  causes 
of  difficulty  and  dissension  occurred  between  them. 
Darnley  was  not  contented  to  be  merely  the  queen's 
husband.  He  wanted,  also,  to  be  king." 

"  I  don't  blame  him,"  said  Waldron. 

"I  should  have  thought,"  said  Hollo,  "that 
Mary  would  have  been  willing  that  he  should  be 
king." 

"  Very  likely  she  might  have  been  willing  her 
self,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  but  her  people  were  not 
willing.  There  were  a  great  many  powerful  no 
bles  and  chieftains  in  the  kingdom,  and  about  her 


186  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

His  treatment  of  Mary.  David  Rizzio. 

court,  and  they  took  sides,  one  way  and  the 
other,  and  there  was  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  It 
is  a  long  story,  and  I  can't  tell  you  half  of  it, 
now.  What  made  the  matter  worse  was,  that 
Darnley,  finding  he  could  not  have  every  thing 
his  own  way,  began  to  be  very  harsh  and  cruel  in 
his  treatment  of  Mary.  This  made  Mary  very 
unhappy,  and  caused  her  to  live  a  great  deal  in 
retirement,  with  a  few  near  and  intimate  friends, 
who  treated  her  with  kindness  and  sympathy. 

"  One  of  these  was  David  Rizzio,  the  man  who 
was  murdered.  He  was  one  of  the  officers  of  the 
court.  His  office  was  private  secretary.  He  was 
a  great  deal  older  than  Mary,  and  it  seems  he 
was  an  excellent  man  for  his  office.  He  used  to 
write  for  the  queen  when  it  was  necessary,  and 
perform  other  such  duties ;  and  as  he  was  very 
gentle  and  kind  in  his  disposition,  and  took  a 
great  interest  in  every  thing  that  concerned  the 
queon,  Mary  became,  at  last,  quite  attached  to 
him,  and  considered  him  as  one  of  her  best 
friends.  At  last  Lord  Darnley  and  his  party  be 
came  very  jealous  of  him.  They  thought  that  he 
had  a  great  deal  too  much  influence  over  the 
queen.  It  was  as  if  he  were  the  prime  minister, 
they  said,  while  they,  the  old  nobles  of  the  realm, 
were  all  set  aside,  as  if  they  were  of  no  con 
sequence  at  all.  So  they  determined  to  kill  him. 


THE  PALACE  OP  HOLYROOD.  187 


Plot  for  the  murder  of  Rizzio. 


His  death. 


"  They  formed  their  plot  in  the  room  below, 
where  we  have  just  been.  It  was  in'  the  evening. 
Mary  was  at  supper  that  night  in  a  little  room  in 
the  tower  up  above,  where  we  are  now  going. 
There  were  two  or  three  friends  with  her.  The 
men  went  up  the  private  stairway,  and  burst  into 
the  little  supper  room,  and  killed  Rizzio  on  the 
spot." 

"  Let  us  go  up  and  see  the  place,"  said  Wai- 
dron. 

So  Mr.  George  rose,  and  followed  by  the  boys, 
he  led  the  way  into  Queen  Mary's  apartments. 


188  ROLLO   IN  SCOTLAND. 

Queen  Mary's  apartments.  Their  situation. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
QUEEN  MARY'S  APARTMENTS. 

BEFORE  we  follow  Mr.  George  and  the  boys 
mto  Queen  Mary's  apartments,  I  have  one  or  two 
other  explanations  to  make,  in  addition  to  the 
information  which  Mr.  George  communicated  to 
the  boys  on  the  stairs.  These  explanations  relate 
to  the  situation  of  Mary's  apartments  in  the  pal 
ace.  They  were  in  a  sort  of  wing,  which  forms 
the  extreme  left  of  the  front  of  the  palace.  The 
wing  is  square.  It  projects  to  the  front.  At  the 
two  corners  of  it,  in  front,  are  two  round  towers, 
which  are  surmounted  above  by  short  spires.  As 
there  is  a  similar  wing  at  the  right  hand  end  of 
the  front,  with  similar  towers  at  the  corners,  the 
facade  of  the  building  is  marked  with  four  towers 
and  four  spires.  The  left  hand  portion  is  repre 
sented  in  the  engraving  opposite. 

Queen  Mary's  rooms  are  in  the  third  story,  as 
seen  in  the  engraving.  The  principal  room  is  in 
the  square  part  of  the  wing,  between  the  two 
round  towers.  This  was  the  bedroom.  In  the 


THE   CORNER   TOWER   OF   THE   PALACE    OF    HOLYROOD. 


QUEEN  MARY'S  APARTMENTS.    191 

The  oratory.  The  sitting  room.  Darnley's  apartments. 

right  hand  tower,  as  seen  in  the  engraving,  is  a 
small  room,  as  large  as  the  tower  can  contain, 
which  was  used  by  Mary  as  an  oratory  ;  that  is, 
a  little  chapel  for  her  private  devotions.  In  the 
left  hand  tower  was  another  small  room,  similar 
to  the  oratory,  which  Mary  used  as  a  private  sit 
ting  room  or  boudoir.  It  is  just  large  enough  for 
a  window  and  a  fireplace,  and  for  a  very  few  per 
sons  to  sit.  It  was  in  this  little  room  that  Mary 
was  having  supper,  with  two  or  three  of  her 
friends,  when  Darnley  and  his  gang  came  up  to 
murder  Rizzio,  who  was  one  among  them. 

Besides  Mary's  bedroom,  which  was  in  the  front 
part  of  the  wing,  between  the  two  towers,  there 
was  another  large  room  behind  it,  which  also 
belonged  to  her.  Darnley's  apartments  were 
very  similar  to  the  queen's,  only  they  were  in 
the  story  below.  It  was  the  custom  in  those 
days,  as  it  is  now,  indeed,  in  high  life,  for  the 
husband  and  wife  to  have  separate  ranges  of 
apartments,  with  a  private  passage  connecting 
them.  In  this  case  the  private  passage  leading 
from  Darnley's  apartments  to  Mary's  was  in  the 
wall.  It  was  a  narrow  stairway,  leading  up  to 
Mary's  bedroom,  and  the  door  where  it  came  out 
was  very  near  to  the  door  leading  to  the  little 
room  in  the  tower  where  Mary  and  her  friends 


192  HOLLO   IN  SCOTLAND. 

Mary's  audience  chamber.  The  oldest  grate  in  Scotland. 

were  taking  supper  on  the  night  of  Kizzio's 
murder. 

When  Mr.  George  and  the  boys  reached  the 
top  of  the  stairs,  they  entered  a  large  room, 
which,  they  were  told  by  an  attendant  who  was 
there  to  receive  them,  was  Mary's  audience  cham 
ber.  This  was  the  room  situated  back  of  the 
bedroom.  The  room  itself,  and  everything  which 
it  contained,  wore  a  very  antique  and  venerable 
appearance.  The  furniture  was  dilapidated,  and 
the  coverings  of  it  were  worn  and  moth-eaten. 
Very  ancient-looking  pictures  were  hanging  on 
the  walls.  There  was  a  large  fireplace,  with  an 
immense  movable  iron  grate  in  it.  The  grate 
was  almost  entirely  worn  out.  The  attendant 
who  showed  these  rooms  said  that  it  was  the 
oldest  grate  in  Scotland.  Still,  it  was  not  so  old 
as  the  time  of  Mary,  for  it  was  brought  into  Scot 
land,  the  attendant  said,  by  Charles  II.,  who  was 
Mary's  great  grandson. 

There  was  a  window  in  a  very  deep  recess  in 
this  room.  It  looked  out  upon  a  green  park,  on 
the  side  of  the  palace.  A  very  ancient-looking 
table  stood  in  this  recess,  which,  the  attendant 
said,  was  brought  by  Mary  from  France.  The 
ceiling  was  carved  and  ornamented  in  a  very 
curious  manner. 

"  And  which  is  the  door,"  said  Waldron  to  the 


13 


QUEEN   MARY'S  APARTMENTS.      195 

The  bed  chamber.  The  boudoir. 

attendant,  "  where  Darnley  and  his  men  came  in, 
to  murder  Rizzio  ?  " 

"  That  is  in  the  next  room,"  said  the  attendant. 
So  saying,  he  pointed  to  a  door,  and  Mr.  George 
and  the  boys,  and  also  two  or  three  other  visitors 
whom  they  had  found  in  the  room  when  they 
came  in,  went  forward  and  entered  the  room. 

"  This,  gentlemen  and  ladies,"  said  the  attend 
ant,  as  they  went  in,  "  was  Queen  Mary's  bed 
chamber.  The  door  where  we  are  coming  in  was 
the  main  or  principal  entrance  to  it.  This  is  the 
bed  and  bedstead,  just  as  they  were  left  when 
Queen  Mary  vacated  the  apartment.  That  door," 
—  pointing  to  a  corner  of  the  room  diagonally 
opposite  to  where  the  company  had  entered,  — 
"  leads  to  the  little  boudoir  *  where  Rizzio  was 
killed,  and  that  opening  in  the  wall  by  the  side 
of  it,  under  the  tapestry,  is  the  place  where  Darn- 
ley  and  the  other  assassins  came  up  by  the  pri 
vate  stair." 

A  view  of  the  room,  and  of  the  various  objects 
which  the  attendant  showing  them  thus  pointed 
out  to  the  company,  may  be  seen  in  the  engraving 
on  the  opposite  page. 

The  bedstead  is  seen  on  the  right.  It  is  sur 
mounted  by  a  heavy  cornice,  richly  carved  and 

*  A  boudoir  is  a  small  private  apartment,  fitted  up  for  a  lady, 
where  she  receives  her  intimate  and  confidential  friends. 


196  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  depredations  of  visitors.  Lord  Darnley's  armor. 

gilded.  This  cornice,  and  the  embroidered  cur 
tains  that  hang  from  it,  must  have  been  very  mag 
nificent  in  their  day,  though  now  they  are  faded 
and  tattered  by  age.  The  coverings  of  the  bed 
are  also  greatly  decayed.  Only  a  little  shred  of 
the  blanket  now  remains,  and  that  is  laid  upon 
the  bolster.  The  rest  of  it  has  been  gradually 
carried  away  by  visitors,  who  for  a  long  time 
were  accustomed  to  pull  off  little  shreds  of  it  to 
take  with  them,  as  souvenirs  of  their  visit.  These 
depredations  are,  however,  now  no  longer  al 
lowed.  That  part  of  the  room  is  now  enclosed 
by  a  cord,  fastened  to  iron  rods  fixed  in  the  floor, 
so  that  visitors  cannot  approach  the  bed.  They 
are  watched,  too,  very  closely,  wherever  they  go, 
to  prevent  their  taking  any  thing  away.  They 
are  not  allowed  to  sit  down  in  any  of  the  chairs. 
The  door  in  the  corner  of  the  room  to  the  left 
leads  into  the  little  boudoir,  or  cabinet,  where 
Rizzio  was  murdered.  You  can  see  a  little  way 
into  this  room,  in  the  picture.  Mr.  George  and 
the  boys  went  into  it.  There  was  a  table  on  the 
back  side  of  it,  with  the  armor,  and  also  the 
gloves,  and  one  of  the  boots  which  Darnley  wore, 
lying  upon  it.  The  attendant  took  up  a  breast 
plate,  which  formed  a  part  of  the  armor,  and  let 
the  boys  lift  it.  It  was  very  heavy.  There  was 
an  indentation  in  the  front  of  it,  where  it  had 


QUEEN  MARY'S  APARTMENTS.      197 

The  altar  piece.  John  Knox.  The  private  staircase. 

been  struck  by  a  bullet.  The  boot,  too,  was  pro 
digiously  thick  and  heavy.  The  heel  was  not  less 
than  three  inches  high. 

There  was  a  fireplace  in  this  room,  and  over  it 
was  an  altar-piece ;  a  sort  of  picture  in  stone, 
which  Mary  used  in  her  oratory,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  Catholics.  It  had  been  broken 
to  pieces  and  put  together  again.  It  was  sai.d 
that  John  Knox  broke  it,  to  show  his  abhorrence 
of  Popery,  but  that  the  pieces  were  saved,  and 
it  was  afterwards  mended. 

There  was  also  in  this  room  a  square  stone, 
shaped  like  a  block,  about  two  feet  long,  sawed 
off  from  the  end  of  a  beam  of  timber.  This  was 
the  stone  that  Mary  knelt  upon  when  she  was 
crowned  Queen  of  Scotland. 

To  the  right  of  the  door  which  leads  to  the- 
boudoir,  under  the  tapestry,  we  see  in  the  en 
graving  the  opening  in  the  wall  which  leads  to 
the  staircase  where  the  conspirators  came  up. 
The  boys  went  in  here  and  looked  down.  The 
stairs  were  very  narrow,  and  very  dark.  The 
passage  was  closed  below,  so  that  they  could 
not  go  down.  In  Mary's  time  these  stairs  not 
only  led  down  to  Darnley's  rooms,  but  there  was 
a  continuation  of  them  down  the  lower  story,  and 
thence  along  by  a  private  way  to  Mary's  place  in 
the  chapel  of  the  monastery,  where  she  used  to  go 


198  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Mary  at  chapel.  The  basket.  Various  curiosities. 

to  attend  divine  service.  She  always  went  by 
this  private  way,  so  that  nobody  ever  saw  her  go 
or  come.  They  only  knew  that  she  was  there  by 
seeing  the  curtains  drawn  before  the  little  com 
partment  in  the  walls  of  the  chapel  where  she 
was  accustomed  to  sit. 

In  the  deep  recess  of  the  window,  seen  at  the 
left  in  the  engraving,  you  will  see  a  tall  stand, 
with  a  sort  of  basket  on  the  top  of  it.  This 
basket  contained  baby  linen,  and  was  sent  to 
Mary  as  a  present  by  Queen  Elizabeth  of  Eng 
land,  at  the  time  when  Mary's  child  was  born. 
This  was  the  child  that  afterwards  became 
King  James.  He  was  not  born  here,  however. 
He  was  born  in  the  castle.  His  birth  took 
place  only  about  three  months  after  the  mur 
der  of  Rizzio.  The  basket  was  a  very  pretty 
one,  and  it  was  lined  with  the  most  costly  lace, 
only  a  few  remnants  of  which  are,  however,  re 
maining. 

The  attendant  showed  all  these  things  to  the 
visitors,  and  many  more,  which  I  have  not  time 
now  to  describe.  Among  the  rest  was  a  piece 
of  embroidery  set  in  the  top  of  a  workbox,  which 
Mary  herself  worked.  The  top  of  the  box  was 
formed  of  a  plate  of  glass ;  the  embroidery  was 
placed  underneath  it,  so  that  it  could  be  seen 
through  the  glass.  It  was  old  and  faded,  and  the 


QUEEN  MARY'S  APARTMENTS.      199 

Specimen  of  Queen  Mary's  embroidery.  Description  of  the  oratory. 

boys  did  not  think  that  it  was  very  pretty.  It 
was,  however,  curious  to  see  it,  since  Mary  had 
worked  it  with  her  own  hands  ;  especially  as  she 
did  it  when  she  was  a  child  ;  for  the  guide  said 
she  embroidered  it  when  she  was  only  about 
twelve  years  old. 

"  She  was  very  skilful  with  her  needle,"  said 
the  attendant.  "  She  learned  the  art  in  France, 
at  the  convent  where  she  was  educated.  This 
tapestry  which  hangs  upon  the  wall  was  worked 
by  the  nuns  at  that  convent,  and  it  is  said  that 
Mary  assisted  them." 

The  tapestry  to  which  the  guide  referred  is  the 
same  that  you  see  in  the  engraving  on  the  wall 
of  the  room,  opposite  to  the  observer.  It  hung 
down  over  the  door  leading  to  the  private  stair 
case. 

Besides  the  bedroom  and  the  boudoir,  there 
was  the  oratory,  too  ;  that  is,  the  small  room  cor 
responding  to  the  boudoir,  in  the  other  round 
tower.  This  room  is  not  shown  in  the  engraving, 
as  the  opening  leading  into  it  is  on  the  side  of 
the  bed  chamber  where  the  spectator  is  supposed 
to  stand.  It  was  a  very  small  room,  like  a  round 
closet,  with  a  window  in  it.  It  contained  very 
little  furniture.  There  were  two  tall,  carved 
stands,  to  hold  the  candlesticks,  on  each  side  of 
the  altar,  and  several  very  ancient-looking  chairs, 


200  HOLLO  IN   SCOTLAND. 

An  ancient  mirror.  Portraits  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots. 

There  was  also  a  small  and  very  peculiar-shaped 
old  mirror  hanging  upon  the  wall.  It  had  DO 
frame,  but  the  glass  itself  was  cut  into  an  orna 
mental  form.  This  mirror  was  a  great  curiosity, 
it  must  be  confessed  ;  but  it  was  past  performing 
any  useful  function,  for  the  silver  was  worn  off  to 
such  an  extent  that  it  was  very  difficult  to  see 
one's  face  in  it. 

After  looking  some  time  longer  at  Queen  Ma 
ry's  rooms,  Mr.  George  and  the  boys  went  back 
again  to  Lord  Darnley's  apartments  below.  There 
they  saw  a  picture  of  Queen  Mary  which  they  had 
not  observed  before.  It  represented  her,  the  man 
said,  in  the .  dress  she  wore  the  day  that  she  was 
beheaded.  The  dress  was  of  dark  silk  or  velvet, 
plain,  but  very  rich.  It  fitted  close  to  the  form, 
and  came  up  high  in  the  neck.  The  countenance 
evinced  the  changes  produced  by  time  and  grief, 
but  it  wore  the  same  sweet  expression  that 
was  seen  in  the  portrait  painted  in  her  earlier 
years. 

"  What  was  she  beheaded  for  ?  "  asked  Rollo, 
while  they  were  looking  at  this  portrait. 

"  She  was  beheaded  by  the  government  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  of  England,"  replied  Mr.  George. 
'  They  charged  her  with  forming  plots  to  dethrone 
Elizabeth,  and  make  herself  Queen  of  England  in 
her  place." 


QUEEN  MARY'S  APARTMENTS.       201 

Queen  Mary's  claim  to  the  English  crown.          Who  was  the  true  heir? 

"  And  did  she  really  form  the  plots  ?  "  asked 
Waldron. 

"  Why  —  yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  speaking, 
however,  in  a  somewhat  doubtful  tone,  "yes  — 
I  suppose  she  did ;  or,  at  least,  her  friends 
and  party  did ;  she  herself  consenting.  You 
see  she  was  herself  descended  from  an  Eng 
lish  king,  just  as  Elizabeth  was,  and  it  was  ex 
tremely  doubtful  which  was  the  rightful  heir. 
Mary,  and  all  her  friends  and  party,  claimed 
that  she  was ;  and  Elizabeth,  on  the  other  hand, 
insisted  that  her  claim  was  clear  and  unques 
tionable." 

"  Which  was  right  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  say,"  replied  Mr.  George. 
"  It  was  such  a  complicated  case  that  you  could 
not  decide  it  either  way.  The  question  was  liko. 
a  piece  of  changeable  silk.  You  could  make  it 
look  green  or  brown,  just  according  to  the  way 
you  looked  at  it.  When  you  come  to  read  the 
history  you  will  see  just  how  it  was." 

"  Yes,"  said  Waldron,  "  I  mean  to  read  all 
about  it." 

"  After  the  difficulties  in  Scotland,"  continued 
Mr.  George,  "  Mary's  armies  were  driven  across 
the  line  into  England,  and  there  Mary  was  seized 
and  made  prisoner.  Elizabeth  would  have  given 
her  her  liberty  if  she  would  have  renounced  her 


202  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Plots  to  release  Queen  Mary.  Her  trial. 

claims  to  the  English  crown  —  but  this  Mary 
would  not  do.  She  was  kept  in  prison  a  number 
of  years.  At  last  some  of  her  friends  began  to 
form  plots  to  get  her  out,  and  make  her  Queen 
of  England.  She  was  accused  of  joining  in  these 
plots,  and  so  she  was  tried,  convicted,  and  be 
headed." 

"  And  did  she  really  join  in  the  plots  ?  "  asked 
Waldron. 

"  I  presume  so,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  would 
have  joined  in  them  if  I  had  been  in  her  place." 

"  So  would  I,"  said  Waldron. 

"  Did  Queen  Elizabeth  order  her  to  be  be 
headed  ?  "  asked  Hollo. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  not  directly  —  or,  at 
least,  she  pretended  that  she  did  not.  She  ap 
pointed  some  judges  to  go  and  try  her,  on  the 
charge  of  treason,  and  the  judges  condemned  her 
to  death.  Elizabeth  might  have  saved  her  if  she 
chose,  but  she  did  not ;  though  afterwards,  when 
she  heard  that  Mary  had  been  executed,  she  pre 
tended  to  be  in  a  great  rage  with  those  who  had 
carried  the  sentence  into  effect,  and  to  be  deeply 
grieved  at  her  cousin's  death." 

"  The  old  hag  1 "  said  Waldron. 

"  Why,  no,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  I  don't  know 
that  we  ought  to  consider  her  an  old  hag  for  this. 
It  was  human  nature,  that  is  all.  She  may  have 


QUEEX   ELIZABETH   OX 


QUEEN  MARY'S  APARTMENTS.      205 

Elizabeth's  character.  The  old  abbey.  Its  ruined  condition. 

been  sincere  in  her  grief  at  Mary's  death,  while 
yet  she  consented  to  it,  and  even  desired  it, 
beforehand.  We  often  wish  to  have  a  thing 
done,  and  yet  are  very  sorry  for  it  after  it  is 
done. 

"  You  see,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "  Queen 
Elizabeth  was  a  very  proud  and  ambitious  woman. 
She  was  very  fond  of  the  power,  and  also  of  the 
pomp  and  parade  of  royalty  ;  and  she  could  not 
endure  that  any  one  should  ever  question  her 
claim  to  the  crown." 

"  Well,"  said  Waldron,  "  at  any  rate  I  am 
sorry  for  poor  Mary." 

After  this,  Mr.  George  and  the  boys  went 
down  the  staircase  where  they  had  come  up,  to 
the  court,  and  then  proceeding  along  the  piazza 
to  the  back  corner  of  it,  they  passed  through  an 
open  door  that  led  them  to  the  ruins  of  the  old 
abbey,  which  stood  on  this  spot  some  centuries 
before  the  palace  was  built.  There  was  nothing 
left  of  this  ancient  edifice  but  the  walls,  and  some 
of  the  pillars  of  the  chapel.  The  roof  was  gone, 
and  every  thing  was  in  a  state  of  dilapidation 
and  ruin. 

There  was  a  guide  there  who  pointed  out  the 
place  where  Mary  stood  at  the  time  of  her  mar 
riage  with  Lord  Darnley.  The  grass  was  grow- 


206 


ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 


Birds  flying  about  the  ruins. 


ing  on  the  spot,  and  above,  all  was  open  to  the 
sky.  Multitudes  of  birds  were  flying  about,  and 
chirping  mournfully  around  the  naked  and  crum 
bling  walls. 


EDINBUEGH   CASTLE.  207 

Edinburgh  Castle.  Waldron's  father. 


CHAPTER  XY. 
EDINBURGH   CASTLE. 

THE  day  after  the  visit  which  the  party  made 
to  the  palace,  they  set  out  from  their  hotel  to  go 
to  the  castle.  As  they  were  walking  along  to 
gether  on  the  sidewalk  of  Prince's  Street,  on  a 
sudden  Waldron  darted  off  from  Rollo's  side, 
and  ran  into  the  street,  in  pursuit  of  a  cab  which 
had  just  gone  by.  He  soon  overtook  the  cab  and 
climbed  up  behind  it ;  and  then,  to  Mr.  George's 
utter  amazement,  he  reached  forward  along  the 
side  of  the  vehicle,  so  as  to  look  into  the  window 
of  it,  and  knocked  on  the  glass.  In  a  moment 
the  cab  stopped,  the  door  opened,  and  the  mys 
tery  of  the  case  was  explained  to  Mr.  George 
and  Rollo  by  seeing  Waldron's  father  looking 
out  at  it. 

"  It  is  his  father!  "  said  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  But  that  is  not  the 
proper  way  for  a  boy  to  stop  his  father,  riding 
by  in  a  cab,  in  the  streets  of  Edinburgh." 

The  cab  drove  up  to  the  sidewalk,  and  then 


208  ROLLO   IN  SCOTLAND. 

A  question  for  Waldron.  His  decision. 

Mr.  Kennedy  got  out  to  speak  to  Mr.  George. 
He  said  that  he  had  received  letters  from  Amer 
ica,  making  it  necessary  for  him  to  set  sail  imme 
diately  for  home.  He  had  intended,  he  added; 
to  have  remained  two  or  three  weeks  longer  in 
Scotland  ;  and  in  that  case  he  should  have  Kkcd 
very  much  to  have  continued  Waldron  under  Mr. 
George's  care. 

"And,  now,"  he  added,  turning  to  Waldron, 
"  which  would  you  rather  do — go  home  to  Amer 
ica  with  me,  or  stay  here,  and  travel  witli  Mr. 
George  ?  " 

Waldron  looked  quite  perplexed  at  this  pro 
posal.  He  said  that  he  liked  very  much  to  travel 
with  Mr.  George  and  Rollo,  and  yet  he  wanted 
very  much  indeed  to  go  home. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  various  debates  and 
consultations  were  held,  and  it  was  finally  decided 
that  Waldron  should  go  home.  So  the  accounts 
were  settled  with  Mr.  George,  and  Waldron  was 
transferred  to  the  hotel  where  his  father  and 
mother  were  lodging.  They  were  to  set  out  the 
next  morning,  in  the  express  train  for  Liverpool. 
The  preparations  for  the  journey  and  the  voyage 
kept  Waldron  busy  all  that  day,  so  that  Mr. 
George  and  Rollo  went  to  the  castle  alone.  But 
Waldron  made  Rollo  promise  that  in  the  evening 


EDINBURGH   CASTLE.  209 

Packing  up.  The  refractory  trunk. 

he  would  come  to  the  hotel  and  see  him,  and  tell 
him  what  he  saw  there. 

In  the  evening,  accordingly,  Rollo  went  to  the 
hotel  where  Mr.  Kennedy  was  staying.  Mr. 
George  went  with  him.  They  went  first  into 
Mr.  Kennedy's  parlor.  A  door  was  open  be 
tween  the  parlor  and  one  of  the  bedrooms,  and 
both  rooms  were  full  of  trunks  and  parcels. 
Every  body  was  busy  packing  and  arranging. 
The  ladies  were  showing  each  other  their  dif 
ferent  purchases,  as  they  came  in  from  the  shops  ; 
and  as  soon  as  Mr.  George  entered,  they  began 
to  ask  him  whether  he  thought  they  would  be 
obliged  to  pay  duty  on  this,  or  on  that,  when  they 
arrived  in  America. 

Rollo  asked  where  Waldron  was,  and  they 
said  he  was  in  his  room,  packing  his  trunk.  So 
Rollo  went  to  find  him. 

"  Ah,  Rollo,"  said  Waldron,  "  I  am  glad  you 
have  corne.  I  want  you  to  sit  on  the  top  of  my 
trunk  with  me,  and  make  it  shut  down." 

Rollo  gave  Waldron  the  assistance  he  required, 
and  by  the  conjoined  gravity  of  both  the  boys  the 
trunk  was  made  to  shut.  Waldron  turned  the 
key  in  an  instant,  and  then  said,  — 

"  There !  Get  open  again  if  you  can.  And 
now,  Rollo,"  he  continued,  "  tell  me  about  the 
castle." 

14 


210  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  walk  to  the  castle.  Jenny  Geddes. 

"  Well,  we  had  a  very  good  time  visiting  it/' 
said  Rollo.  "  We  went  over  the  bridge  where 
you  and  I  stopped  to  look  down  to  the  market, 
and  came  to  High  Street.  But  instead  of  turn 
ing  down,  as  we  did  when  we  were  going  to 
Holyrood,  we  turned  up  ;  because,  you  know,  the 
castle  is  on  the  top  of  the  hill." 

"  Yes,"  said  Waldron,  "  I  knew  that  was  the 
way." 

"  Well,  we  went  up  High  Street,"  continued 
Rollo.  "  The  upper  part  of  it  is  quite  a  hand 
some  street.  There  were  a  great  many  large 
public  buildings.  We  passed  by  a  great  cathe 
dral,  where,  they  said,  a  woman  threw  a  stool  at 
the  minister,  while  he  was  preaching. 

"  What  did  she  do  that  for  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Rollo.  "  I  suppose  she 
did  not  like  his  preaching.  It  was  in  the  refor 
mation  times.  I  believe  he  was  preaching  Popery, 
and  she  was  a  Protestant.  Her  name  was  Jenny 
Geddes.  They  have  got  the  stool  now." 

"  They  have  ?  "  exclaimed  Waldron. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  so  uncle  George  said. 
They  keep  it  in  the  Antiquarian  Museum,  for  a 
curiosity." 

"  When  we  got  to  the  upper  end  of  the  High 
Street,"  continued  Rollo,  "  there  was  the  castle 
all  before  us.  Only  first  there  was  a  parade 


EDINBURGH  CASTLE.  211 

The  parade  ground.  The  soldiers. 

ground  for  the  troops  ;  it  was  all  gravelled 
over." 

"  Were  there  any  soldiers  there  ?  "  asked  Wal- 
dron. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  there  were  two  or  three 
companies  drilling  and  parading." 

"  I  should  like  to  have  seen  them,"  said  Wal- 
dron. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  and  besides,  the  parade 
ground  was  a  splendid  place.  The  lower  end  of 
it  was  towards  the  street ;  the  upper  end  was 
towards  the  gates  and  walls  of  the  castle,  and 
the  two  sides  of  it  were  shut  in  by  a  low  wall, 
built  on  the  very  brink  of  the  precipice.  You 
could  look  down  over  this  wall  into  the  streets 
of  the  lower  part  of  the  town  ;  and  then  we 
could  see  off  a  great  way,  over  all  the  country. 

"  We  stopped  a  little  while  to  look  at  the 
view,  and  then  we  turned  round  and  looked  at 
the  soldiers  a  little  while  longer,  and  then  we 
went  on.  Presently  we  came  to  the  castle  gates. 
There  was  a  sentinel  on  guard,  and  some  sol 
diers  walking  to  and  fro  on  the  ramparts  above  ; 
but  they  did  not  say  any  thing  to  us,  and  so  we 
went  in.  There  were  other  parties  of  ladies  and 
gentlemen  going  in  too." 

"Well,"  said  Waldron,  "what  did  you  see 
when  you  got  in  ?  " 


212  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  Scotch  bagpipes.  Hons  Meg. 

"  Why,  we  were  yet  only  inside  the  walls," 
said  Rollo,  "  and  so  we  kept  going  on  up  a  steep 
road  paved  with  stones.  There  were  walls,  and 
towers,  and  battlements,  and  bastions,  and  sol 
diers  walking  sentry,  and  cannons  pointed  at  us, 
all  around.  Presently  we  came  to  a  sort  of 
bridge.  Here  we  heard  some  music.  It  seemed 
down  below  ;  so  we  went  to  the  side  of  the  bridge 
and  looked  over.  There  was  a  little  square  field 
below,  and  three  men,  with  Scotch  bagpipes,  play 
ing  together.  The  men  were  dressed  in  uniform, 
and  the  bagpipes  were  splendid-looking  instru 
ments." 

"  Yes,"  said  Waldron.  "  They  were  the  mu 
sicians  of  some  Highland  regiment,  practising." 

"  Well  ;  we  went  on,  higher  and  higher,"  said 
Rollo,  "  and  continued  going  round  and  round, 
till,  at  last,  we  came  to  the  upper  part  of  the 
castle,  where  there  were  platforms,  and  cannons 
upon  them,  pointing  out  over  all  the  country 
round  about." 

"  Did  you  see  Mons  Meg  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  and  we  went  up  close  to 
it.  But  we  did  not  touch  it,  for  there  was  a  no 
tice  put  up  that  visitors  must  not  touch  the 
guns. 

"  By  and  by  we  came  into  a  large  square 
court,  with  buildings,  that  looked  like  barracks, 


EDINBURGH   CASTLE.  213 

The  crown  room.  The  crown.  The  cage. 

all  about  it.  There  was  a  sign  up,  with  a  hand 
on  it  pointing,  and  the  words,  '  To  the  crown 
room.7  So  we  knew  that  that  was  the  place 
where  we  were  to  go.  Besides,  all  the  other 
ladies  and  gentlemen  were  going  there,  too. 

"  We  gave  up  our  tickets  at  the  door,  and 
went  up  a  short  flight  of  steps,  into  a  little  sort 
of  cellar." 

"  A  little  sort  of  cellar  !  "  exclaimed  Waldron. 
He  was  surprised  at  the  idea  of  going  up  stairs 
into  a  cellar. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo.  "  It  was  just  like  a  cellar. 
It  had  stone  walls  all  around  it,  and  was  arched 
overhead." 

"  Was  it  dark  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  0,  no,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  it  was  lighted  up  splen 
didly  with  gas.  The  gas  shone  very  bright  in 
between  the  bars  of  the  cage,  and  brightened  up 
the  crown  and  the  jewels  wonderfully." 

"  In  the  cage  ?  "  repeated  Waldron  ;  "  was 
there  a  cage  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Rollo.  "  In  the  middle  of  the 
room  there  was  a  great  iron  cage,  as  high  as  my 
head,  and  big  in  proportion.  The  crown  and 
the  jewels  were  in  the  cage,  on  cushions.  They 
were  so  far  in  that  people  could  not  reach  them 
by  putting  their  hands  through  the  bars.  There 
were  a  great  many  persons  standing  all  around 


214  HOLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 

The  story  of  the  crown  and  jewels  in  the  old  chest. 

the  cage,  and  looking  in  to  see  the  crown  and 
the  jewels." 

"  Were  they  pretty  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  Not  very,"  said  Rollo.  "  I  suppose  the  things 
were  made  of  gold ;  but  I  could  not  tell,  from 
the  looks  of  them,  whether  they  were  made  of 
gold  or  brass." 

"  Was  there  any  thing  else  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  there  was  a  monstrous 
oak  chest,  —  iron  bound,  or  brass  bound, —  where 
the  crown  and  jewels  were  hid  away  for  a  great 
many  years.  At  the  time  when  Scotland  was 
united  to  England,  they  put  these  things  in  this 
chest ;  and  they  were  left  there  so  long  that  at 
last  there  was  nobody  that  knew  where  they 
were.  Finally  the  government  began  to  look  for 
them,  and  they  looked  in  this  old  chest,  and 
there  they  found  them. 

"  While  we  were  looking  at  the  chest,"  con 
tinued  Rollo,  "  I  heard  some  music  out  in  the 
court,  and  I  asked  uncle  George  to  let  me  go 
out ;  and  he  did.  I  was  very  glad  I  did,  for  the 
Highland  regiment  was  paraded  in  the  court.  I 
stood  there  some  time  to  see  them  exercised." 

"  Did  they  look  well  ?  "  asked  Waldron. 

"  Beautifully,"  said  Rollo. 

After  this,  Rollo  gave  Waldron  some  further 
accounts  of  what  he  saw  at  the  castle  ;  but  before 


EDINBURGH   CASTLE. 


215 


Time  to  go  home. 


Good  by  to  Waldron. 


he  got  quite  through  with  his  descriptions  Mr. 
George  came,  and  said  it  was  time  for  them  to  go 
home.  So  they  both  bade  Waldron  good  by. 
Rollo  said,  however,  that  it  was  not  his  final 
good  by. 

"  I  shall  come  down  to  the  station  to-morrow 
morning,"  said  he,  "  and  see  you  go." 

Waldron  was  very  much  pleased  to  hear  this, 
and  then  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  went  away. 


216  ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 


Story  of  the  castle  which  was  taken  by  a  load  of  hay. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

CONCLUSION. 

MR.  GEORGE  and  Rollo  made  some  excursions 
together  after  this,  but  I  have  not  time  to  give  a 
full  account  of  them.  Among  others,  they  went 
to  see  Linlithgow,  where  stands  the  ruin  of  an 
ancient  palace,  which  was  the  one  in  which 
Queen  Mary  was  born.  Linlithgow  itself  is  a 
town.  Near  it  is  a  pretty  little  loch.  The  ruins 
stand  on  a  smooth  and  beautiful  lawn,  between 
the  town  and  the  shore  of  the  loch.  The  people 
who  lived  in  the  palace  had  delightful  views  from 
their  windows,  both  of  the  water  of  the  loch  it 
self  and  of  the  opposite  shores. 

At  this  ruin  people  can  go  up  by  the  old  stair 
cases  to  various  rooms  in  the  upper  stories,  and 
even  to  the  top  of  the  walls.  The  floors,  wherever 
the  floors  remain,  are  covered  with  grass  and 
weeds. 

There  was  a  very  curious  story  about  the  cas 
tle.  It  was  taken  at  one  time  by  means  of  a  load 
of  hay.  The  enemy  engaged  a  farmer  who  lived 


EDINBURGH   CASTLE.  217 

The  portcullis.  Melrose  Abbey.  Abbotsford. 

near,  and  who  was  accustomed  to  supply  the  peo 
ple  of  the  castle  with  hay,  to  join  them  in  their 
plot.  So  they  put  some  armed  men  on  his  cart, 
and  covered  them  all  over  with  hay.  They  also 
concealed  some  more  armed  men  near  the  gate 
way.  The  gateway  had  what  is  called  a  port 
cullis  ;  that  is,  a  heavy  iron  gate  suspended  by 
chains,  so  as  to  rise  and  fall.  Of  course,  when 
the  portcullis  was  down,  nobody  could  get  in 
or  out. 

The  people  of  the  castle  hoisted  the  portcullis, 
to  let  the  load  of  hay  come  in,  and  the  farmer,  as 
soon  as  he  had  got  the  wagon  in  the  middle  of 
the  gateway,  stopped  it  there,  and  cut  the  traces, 
so  that  it  could  not  be  drawn  any  farther.  At 
the  same  instant  the  men  who  were  hid  under  the 
hay  jumped  out,  killed  the  guard  at  the  gates, 
called  out  to  the  other  men  who  were  in  ambush, 
and  they  all  poured  into  the  castle  together, 
crowding  by  at  the  sides  of  the  wagon.  The 
wagon,  being  directly  in  the  way,  prevented  the 
portcullis  from  being  shut  down.  Thus  the  cas 
tle  was  taken. 

Mr.  George  and  Rollo  also  went  to  visit  Mel- 
rose  Abbey,  which  is  a  very  beautiful  ruin  in  the 
south  part  of  Scotland.  While  they  were  there 
they  visited  Abbotsford,  too,  which  is  the  house 
that  Walter  Scott  lived  in.  Walter  Scott  amused 


218 


ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 


Conclusion  of  the  journey. 


himself,  during  his  lifetime,  in  collecting  a  great 
many  objects  of  interest  connected  with  Scottish 
history,  and  putting  them  up  in  his  house  ;  and 
now  the  place  is  a  perfect  museum  of  Scottish 
antiquities  and  curiosities. 

Melrose  and  Abbotsford  are  in  the  southern 
part  of  Scotland,  not  very  far  from  the  English 
frontier.  After  visiting  them,  Mr.  George  and 
Kollo  proceeded  by  the  railway  to  Berwick, 
which  stands  on  the  boundary  line ;  and  there 
they  bade  Scotland  farewell. 


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Ten  volumes,  ICmo,  cloth.  Being  a  new  series  of  Rollo  Books.  By 
REV.  JACOB  ABBOTT.  Beautifully  illustrated.  Rollo  on  the  Atlantic 

—  Rollo  in  Paris  —  Rollo  in  Switzerland  —  Rollo  on  the  Rhine  —  Rollo 
in  London  —  Rollo  in  Scotland  —  Rollo  in  Geneva—  Rollo  in  Holland 

—  Rollo  in  Naples  —  Rollo  in  Rome.    Price  per  vol.  50  cts. 

MY  UNCLE  TOBY'S  LIBRARY. 

By  FRANCIS  FORRESTER,  ESQ.,  consisting  of  twelve  volumes,  ele 
gantly  bound,  and  illustrated  with  upwards  of  SIXTY  beautiful  engrav 
ings.  Each  book  is  printed  in  large  and  splendid  type,  upon  superior 
paper.  Price  per  vol.  25  cts. 

THE  SUMMER  HOUSE  STORIES. 

By  the  author  of"  Daisy,"  "  Violet,"  &c.  Elegantly  illustrated  by 
Billings.  Six  volumes.  Price  per  vol.  63  cts. 

This  series  is  designed  to  sketch  attractively  and  simply  the  won 
ders  of  reptile  and  insect  existences,  the  changes  of  trees,  rocks,  riv 
ers,  clouds,  and  winds.  This  is  done  by  a  family  of  children  writing 
letters,  both  playful  and  serious,  which  are  addressed  to  all  children 
whom  the  books  may  reach. 

THE  MARTIN  AND  NELLIE  STORIES. 

By  JOSEPHINE  FRANKLIN.  Twelve  volumes,  ICmo,  cloth.  Illus 
trated  by  Billings  and  others.  Price  per  vol.  50  cts. 

The  object  of  these  stories  is  the  inculcation,  in  a  quiet,  simple  way, 
of  the  principles  of  good  nature,  kindness,  and  integrity  among  chil 
dren.  They  consist  of  the  usual  pathetic  and  mirthful  incidents  that 
constitute  boy  and  girl  life. 

THE  GLEN  MORRIS   STORIES. 

By  FRANCIS  FORRESTER,  author  of  "  My  Uncle  Toby's  Library." 
Five  vols.  16mo,  cloth.  Beautifully  illustrated.  Price  per  vol.  63  cts. 

The  purpose  of  the  "Glen  Morris  Stories"  is  to  sow  the  seed  of 
pure,  noble,  manly  character  in  the  mind  of  our  great  nation's  child 
hood.  They  exhibit  the  virtues  and  vices  of  childhood,  not  in  prosy, 
unreadable  precepts,  but  in  a  series  of  characters  which  move  before 
the  imagination,  as  living  beings  do  before  the  senses. 

PICTURES  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  Swiss. 

One  volume,  Ifimo.    Price  67  cts. 

A  very  instructive  and  entertaining  Juvenile,  designed  for  children 
from  ten  to  fifteen  years  of  age. 

PICTURES  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  SPAIN. 

By  the  author  of"  Pictures  from  the  History  of  the  Swiss."  A  new 
volume  just  published.  Price  67  cts. 

LIFE  AND  ADVENTURES  OF  WHITENOSE  WOODCHUCK. 

One  volume,  Ifimo.    Price  38  cts. 

Intended  especially  for  younger  children,  and  illustrated  with  nu 
merous  engravings,  by  Billings. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  B.  &  T.  publish  a  great  variety  of  Toy  and 
Juvenile  Book?",  suited  to  the  wants  of  children  of  all  ages. 


AN  INTERESTING  BOOK  FOR  SCHOLARS, 

The  Boys  have  long  desired  such  a.  Book. 

THE  UNIVERSAL  SPEAKER: 

CONTAINING  A   COLLECTION   OB- 
SPEECHES,   DIALOGUES,   AND  RECITATIONS, 
ADAPTED    TO    THE    USE    OF    SCHOOLS,    ACADEMIES,    AND 
SOCIAL   CIRCLES. 

Edited  by  N.  A.  Calkins  and  W.  T.  Adams. 

The  excellences  of  this  work  consist,  in  part,  of  its  entire 
originality,  of  its  more  than  usual  adaptation  to  the  wants  of 
our  High  Schools  and  Academies,  and  of  the  systematic  ar-  ! 
rangement  of  its  selections  for  declamation  and  for  elocutionary 
practice.  Those  in  Part  Second  were  prepared  by  Prof.  WM. 
RUSSELL,  the  eminent  elocutionist,  expressly  for  this  work.  The 
publishers  feel  assured  that  in  presenting  this  work  to  Teachers 
and  Scholars,  they  are  offering  them  no  revision  of  old  matter 
with  which  they  have  long  been  familiar,  but  an  original  work, 
full  of  new,  interesting,  and  instructive  pieces,  for  the  varied 
purposes  for  which  it  Is  designed. 

In.  3.  vol.  12xno.    IPrice   $1. 

The  instructions  in  declamation  are  so  complete  and  accompanied  (>y  such  ample  illus 
trations  relative  to  position  and  jristures  of  the  student,  that  the  "Universal  Speaker" 
needs  only  to  be  ieen  to  become  what  1U  name  indicates  —  universal.  —  Rochester  Re 
pository. 

The  pieces  are  Judiciously  selected,  and  the  book  is  very  attractive  in  its  appearance  — 
Connecticut  School  Journal. 

b«  acceptable  to  schools  and  students,  particularly  in  the  department  of  dialogues  of  which 
there   is  a  great  dearth  of  really  good  and  FIT  matter  in  most  speakers.  —  United  States 
Journal. 
They  are  all  school-like,  the  dialogues  being-  illustrative  of  scenes  in  common  life,  inclnd- 

are  brief  and  energetic.     It  will  meet  with  lavor.  —  R.  I.  Schoolmaster. 
The  selection   has  been  made  with  a  great  deal  of  foresight  and  taste,  by  men  who  are 

cuts  appended  to  the  pieces,  will 'be  found'  useful  to  those  who  use  them.  —  Mass.  Teacher. 

as  the  book  is  entirely  fresh,  the  matter  never  having  appeared  in  previous  readeis  or 
speakers,  it  cannot  fail  to  be  a  welcome  addition  to  the  books  of  its  class.  —  Springfield 
Republican. 

In  this  they  have  succeeded,  and  have  also  been  fortunate  in  the  selection.  The  book 
contains  a  larger  number  of  dialogues  than  any  we  have  seen,  and  they  are  most!y  relative 
to  school  children  and  school  ari'afrs.  —  Penn.  School  Journal. 

TAGGARD  &  THOMPSOX,  Publishers, 

29   CORNHILL^  BOSTON. 


INSTRUCTION    AND   AMUSEMENT. 


PICTUKES 

FROM   THE 


meroav  OF 


In  1  vol.  16mo-    262  pages.    Price  75  cents. 
WITH  CHARACTERISTIC  ILLUSTRATIONS, 

DESIGNED  BY  HAMMETT   BILLINGS. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  the  early  history  of  the  Swiss 
abounds  in  the  most  thrilling  and  interesting  stories,  of  which 
that  of  Wm.  Tell  shooting  the  apple  from  the  head  of  his  son,  by 
order  of  the  tyrant  Gessler,  so  familiar  to  every  child,  is  but  a 
specimen.  The  present  volume,  while  it  introduces  the  youthful 
reader  to  many  of  the  scenes  through  which  the  brave  Swiss 
passed  in  recovering  their  liberty,  also  narrates  many  stories  of 
peculiar  interest  and  romance,  every  way  equal  to  that  of  Tell. 
Among  these  we  may  name, 

The  Thievish  Raven,  and  the  Mischief  he  caused- 
How  the  Wives  and  Daughters  of  Zurich  saved  the  City. 
How  the  City  of  Lucerne  was  saved  by  a  Boy. 
The  Baker's  Apprentice. 

How  a  Wooden  Figure  raised  Troops  in  the  Valois. 
Little  Roza's  Offering. 

A  Little  Theft,  and  what  happened  in  consequence. 
The  Angel  of  the  Camp. 
With  twenty-one  other  similar  stories. 

TAGGARD  &  THOMPSON,  Publishers, 

29   CORNHILL,  BOSTON. 


NEW    SERIES  OF 


THE   SUMMER-HOUSE  SERIES. 

BY  THE  AUTHOR  OB1  "  VIOLET,"   "  DAISY,"   ETC. 

The  first  volume  of  what  the  publishers  sincerely  believe  will  be  the 
most  popular  series  of  Juvenile  Books  yet  issued,  is  now  ready,  en- 

OUR  SUMMER-HOUSE,  AND  WHAT  WAS  SAID  AND  DONE  IN  IT. 

In  1  vol.  IGmo.     Price  62  cents. 

Handsomely  Illustrated  by  HAMMETT  BILLINGS. 

From  the  author's  Preface :  — 

"The  Summer-House  Series  of  children's  "books,  of  which  thepresent 
volume  is  the  first,  is  aii  attempt  to  sketch  attractively  and  simply  the 
wonders  of  reptile  and  insect  existence,  the  changes  of  trees,  rocks, 
rivers,  clouds  and  vvinds. 

To  this  end  a  family  of  intelligent  children,  of  various  ages,  collected 
in  a  garden  summer-house,  are  supposed  to  write  letters  and  stories, 
sometimes  playful,  sometimes  serious,  addressing  them  to  all  children 
whom  the  books  may  reach. 

The  author  has  hoped,  by  thus  awakening  the  quick  imagination  and 
ready  sympathies  of  the  young,  to  lead  them  to  use  their  own  eyes, 
and  hearts,  and  hands,  in  that  plentiful  harvest-field  of  life,  where 
'  the  reapers  indeed  are  few.'  " 

Among  the  stories  in  the  present  volume  are  the  following :  — 

Bessie's  Garden, 

One  of  the  most  touching  and  affecting  stories  we  have  read  for  many 
a  daj . 

The  Lancers. 

A  most  humorous  story,  with  a  never-to-be-forgotten  moral,  inculca 
ting  contentment. 

The  Working  Fairies. 

In  this  story  Industry  is  held  up  for  attainment,  and  Idleness  re 
ceives  a  severe  rebuke.  The  style  and  language,  though  perfectly  in 
telligible  to  children,  are  worthy  of  a  Beecher. 

The  Princess. 
A  story  of  wrong  and  suffering. 

Little  Bed-Head. 
A  true  story  of  a  bird. 

The  Little  Preacher. 

A  sweet  story,  introducing  bird  and  insect  life,  and  conveying  more 
truth  and  instruction  to  children,  than  can  be  found  in  a  dozen  ordi 
nary  sermons. 

TAGGARD  &  THOMPSON,  Publishers, 

29  CORNHILL,  BOSTON. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


